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RETROSPECT 

A 

OF 

A MILITARY LIFE 

DURING 

THE MOST EVENTFUL PERIODS 


THE LAST WAR. 



JAMES ANTON, 

LATE QUARTERMASTER-SERGEANT, FORTV-SECOND OR 
ROYAL HIGHLANDERS. 



o - 1 
i •>* 


EDINBURGH: 

W. H. LIZARS, 3, ST. JAMES’ SQUARE; 

S. HIGH LEY, 32, FLEET STREET, LONDON ; AND 
AY. CURRY, JUN. AND CO. DUBLIN. 

1841. 




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k) 

4 




EDINBURGH ! 

PRINTED BY \V. H. LIZARS. 


t 


TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 




GENERAL SIR GEORGE MURRAY, 

G. C. B., &c. &c. &c. 

COLONEL OF THE ROYAL HIGHLANDERS, 

THE FOLLOWING PAGES 
ARE 

(with permission) 

MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 

BY 

HIS OBEDIENT AND VERY HUMBLE SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR. 



r 





PREFACE. 


As some prefatory observations have been made at the 
commencement of the following pages, it is unnecessary 
to trespass on the readers attention by lengthened remarks 
in this place; but before laying this little Work before 
the Public, the Author is desirous to thank those friends 
to whom the manuscript was submitted, for their kind 
advice and encouragement, and, in particular, the gentle¬ 
man who condescended to revise the proof-sheets as they 
issued from the press,—a task which the Author could 
not venture to undertake. 

Journal writing is now common in the Army, even 
among private soldiers ; and in this, certainly, there can 
be nothing reprehensible. The soldier who devotes his 
hours of disengagement from military duties to the 
recording of his own actions or those of his regiment, 
along with whatever falls under his observation worthy 
of notice, is very unlikely to accompany such a practice 
with habits of intemperance and insubordination,—the 
two great perils to which the private soldier is exposed. 
Heavy, indeed, would be the self-reproach resulting from 
a consciousness of acting diametrically opposite to the 
rules which his own pen lays down as those of right and 

A 3 



VI 


PREFACE. 


duty. The composition of a diary assuredly places a 
strong guard on the conduct of any man of feeling or 
intelligence; and the very idea of such a task, pre¬ 
supposes the existence of these qualities to a greater or 
less extent. But in writing journals, soldiers require to 
he circumspect in regard to passing judgment on the 
actions they witness. In the following pages, the Au¬ 
thor has certainly taken upon himself to express some 
particular sentiments, which, though in accordance with 
good order and military discipline, and prompted by a 
sincere regard for the interests of the country, might have 
been improper for publication while the writer continued 
to serve. He is now a mere looker-on, and the obligation 
under which he lay to obey, not to judge, has ceased to 
exist. However, he is confident that he yet states nothing 
but what accords with the true and common sentiments 
of the Army, whose approval, as well as that of the 
intelligent Public, he therefore fondly hopes that his 
Work will obtain. If it only give, in the perusal, a 
tithe of the satisfaction it afforded in the writing, and 
if it meet with as much indulgence from the Public as 
the Author has ever met with from those under whom 
he served, he will have no small cause to be proud of 
its success. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Observations.—Tlie Author enlists in the Militia. 
—An early Friend, and a Village Schoolmistress.—Sets out 
to join the Regiment.—Aberdeen.—Selected for an Officer's 
Servant, but rejected.—Some Doubts entertained whether 
Ignorance may not be of more Advantage to a Private Sol¬ 
dier than Education.—Misbehaviour, and likely to get into 
a Scrape.—Necessity of rigid Discipline . 

CHAPTER II. 

Route to Fort George.—Arrival and Remarks.—Satisfied with 
my Situation, and Cause of my being satisfied.—Route to 
Edinburgh.—Keith.—Defeat of a Band of Highland Plun¬ 
derers there.—Improvements in the neighbourhood of Keith. 
—Huntly .’.. 


CHAPTER III. 

Lawrencekirk. — Brechin. — Edinburgh. — Lodging-house. — 
Working Parties.—Prison Duty at Greenlaw, and Quarters at 
Pennycuick.—Cropping the Hair.—Berwick.—Holy Island. 
—The Author volunteers to the 42d Regiment . 

CHAPTER IV. 

Anival at Inverness.—Appointments and Disappointments.— 
The Author sent on the Recruiting Service to Edinburgh, and 
gets married.—Recalled to Inverness, and ordered to join the 
first Battalion of the Regiment in Spain.—Some unpleasant 






CONTENTS. 


Occurrences on board.—Land at Passages.—Ranturca.— 
Lazzaca.—Drawing Rations.—St. Stephano.—Allesander.— 
Foraging Parties.—Joins the Regiment . 40 


CHAPTER V. 

Preliminary Remarks concerning the Regiment.—The Com¬ 
manding-Officer, Adjutant, and Sergeant-Major.—Failure in 
serving out Provisions.—Obliging Quartermaster-Sergeant.— 
Accommodation in Camp.—View of the Country from the 
top of the Mountains.—Erect a Hut.—Obliging Disposition 
of the Men.—Mount Guard.—Drunkenness and Vain-boast- 
ing.—Advance, and witness a distant Engagement. ... 54 

CHAPTER VI. 

Employment in Camp.—Descend the Mountains.—Cross the 
Neville. — Battle. — Observations after Battle.—Bivouac.— 
Marauding.—Appearance of the Country.—Bad Weather... 68 

CHAPTER VII. 

Corps composing the Sixth Division of the Army.—Canton¬ 
ments.—Hopes of Plenty not realized.—Trafficking with the 
Enemy.—Cross the Nive.—Battle.—Outrages.—Adjutant’s 

Clerk.—Return to Ustritz.—Advance towards Bayonne._ 

Battle.—Lord Wellington orders the wounded of the French 
to be conveyed to Bayonne . 84 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Cantonments. — General Employment. — Markets._Delin¬ 

quents speedily punished—High Prices of Bread, Sugar, 

Soap, Ac.—Break up Cantonments and march to Orthez_ 

Battle of Orthez—Loss of the Regiment in Battle, and 

. Observations.—Advance after the Enemy_Pillaging... 99 

CHAPTER IX. 

Cross the Adour.—My Wife left behind, and in some Diffi¬ 
culty.—Likely to get into a Scrape.—Bad State of the Men’s 






CONTENTS. 


IX 


PAGE 

Clothing.—Avidity in stripping the Dead.—Cantonments.— 

Camp near Ayre—St. Patrick’s Day_Cross the Garonne. 

—The Soldiers cheat the Peasantry_Battle of Toulouse... 116 

CHAPTER X. 

Remarks after Battle.—Narrow Escapes.—Lieut. Farquliarson 

mortally wounded_The Sergeant-major killed.—Wighton. 

—Captain Purves, 79th Regt Acts of personal Prowess.— 

Mrs. Cunningham.—Lieutenant M‘Laren_Concluding Ob¬ 
servations on the Field_Accounts of Peace, and retrograde 

Movement.—Disappointment.—Aueh.—Balls and Carousals. 

—March to Bourdeaux.—The Author appointed to take 
charge of the regimental Stores at Narac, and proceeds by 
Water to Bourdeaux.—Thunder-storm.—Arrives at Bour¬ 
deaux.—Its resemblance to the New Town of Edinburgh.— 
Religious Procession_Embarks for Ireland . 133 

CHAPTER XI. 

Sudden Death on beard.—Arrival at Cork.—March to Naas. 

—Overbearing Conduct of an Assistant Sergeant-major_ 

Leave Naas.—Arrive at Kilkenny.—Arrears paid off.—Pay- 
Sergeants’ Manner of dealing.—Troublesome Duty imposed 
upon the Author.—Likely to get into a Scrape_The As¬ 

sistant Sergeant-major reduced.—The Second Battalion joins. 

_Back Pay to Prisoners of War.—The Author sent on De¬ 
tachment_State of the Country.—False Ideas entertained 

regardingthe Irish.—Superstitious Notions of the Country Peo¬ 
ple The Monument.—Bad Barrack.—Obliging Priest and 

Parson.—Leave Tulleroan_Suicide Embark for Ostend.. 154 

CHAPTER XII. 

Arrival at Ostend, and Cause of our sudden Call to the Nether¬ 
lands_Twenty Women of the Regiment ordered to be sent 

back.—Ghent.—The Women detained at Ostend arrive at 
Ghent and are sent back.—Observations with regard to the 
providing for Women when left at Home.—Brussels—Selling 



X 


CONTENTS. 


Blankets and Punishment.—Alarm at Brussels.—Grand Ball. 
—Prepare to leave Brussels.—March to Quatre Bras.—En¬ 
gagement_Giraud’s Account of the Action.—Observations. 

Loss of the Regiment at Quatre Bras.—Bivouac.—Apostrophe 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Morning Preparations. — Retire towards Waterloo_Punish¬ 

ment, and Observations on the Necessity of rigid Discipline. 
—The Enemy attack the Rear of the Army.—Unfavourable 
Weather.—The Army takes up its Position.—False Alarm. 
—Preparations for Battle.—Commencement of the Engage¬ 
ment, and Continuation.—Confusion and Panic on the Road 
to Brussels.—Conclusion of the Action.—Joy and Grief at 
Brussels.—Night Reflections after Battle.—Observations of 
Giraud regarding the Battle.—Concluding Observations. 

CHAPTER XIY. 

Advance after the Enemy_Destruction of Property and ma¬ 

rauding.—Thirst and want of Water.—Clichy Camp.—Break 
up Camp.—St. Germain.—Neufle Chateau.—March to Calais. 
—Obstinate Assistant Sergeant-major.—Observations regard¬ 
ing Sergeant-majors and Promotion from the Ranks.—Em¬ 
bark for England . 


CHAPTER XY. 

Passage to Ramsgate—March to Hythe, Chelmsford, and Sun¬ 
derland.— March to Edinburgh, and Reception there_ 

Concluding Observations . 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Glasgow.—Ireland.—Famine, Sickness, and Poverty.—Omagh. 
—McLennan.—Dundalk, and burning of Wildgoose Lodge . 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The Regiment sends a Detachment to Drogheda to suppress 
Rioting.—-Doubts regarding the evil of Party Feuds Death 


PAGE 


178 


203 


221 


244 


257 





CONTENTS. 


XI 


PAGF, 

of M‘Lennan.—The Detachment marches from Drogheda to 
Newry.—The Regiment is ordered to Dublin.—Differences 

arising from Intemperance between the-and the 42d. 

—Dublin Duty and Etiquette.—Breakfast Mess established 
in the Regiment.—The Benevolent Society.—March from 
Dublin to Kilkenny and Clonmel.—Improvements checked 
by religious Prejudice.—Love and Suicide. 276 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Route from Clonmel, and Insurrectionary Movements in the 
County of Limerick.—Causes "of the Insurrectionary Move¬ 
ments_Secret Societies_Assassination of Major Going_ 

Means taken to suppress the Disturbance . 293 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Detachments sent out from Rathkeale.—An Informer.—Con¬ 
spiracy of Rockites to take the Barrack at Balingrand.— 

False Alarm of Famine. 304 

CHAPTER XX. 

General Search for Arms Limprick.—March to Buttevant 


Dublin.—Fermoy.—Embark for Gibraltar . 316 

CHAPTER XXL 

Arrival at Gibraltar.—Unfortunate Contractor_Trade and 


Improvements.—Apathy of the Church of England in pro¬ 
moting the Extension of the Protestant Religion.—Natural 
Cavities and Petrifactions.—Influx of Water from the Atlan¬ 
tic to the Mediterranean. — Effects of easterly Winds_ 

Regimental Establishment for supplying the Barracks with 
Water ... 331 


CHAPTER XXII. 

An Epidemic breaks out in Gibraltar ; supposed Cause.—The 
Spaniards establish a Cordon.—The Troops ordered to en- 
p, and Places of Public Worship and Courts of Justice 









CONTENTS. 


Xll 

dosed. — Progress of tlie Fever. — Casualties among the 
Troops during its Prevalence.—The Fever disappears, the 
Troops return to Barracks, and Inquiries made regarding the 
Cause of the Fever.—Population Table and Remarks. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Jews.—Police, Spanish Insurgents, Skirmish at Lena.—Priest- 
ridden State of Spain.—Bayside Village.—Improvements of 
Gibraltar.—Baron De Leliften’s Epitaph.—Consumption of 
Ardent Spirits . 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

Malta and its Harbours.—The Knights of Malta.—Supersti¬ 
tious Observances.—Religious Processions.—Begging Money 
for Masses for the Dead—The Pauper’s Burial.—The re¬ 
moval of the Madona de la Carmel, and Restoration_ 

Poverty and Beggars.—Venomous Reptiles.—Barrack Ser¬ 
vants.—The Peasant’s Homestead_Conclusion . 





RETROSPECT 

OP 

A MILITARY LIFE. 


CHAPTER I. 

Introductory Observations.—The Author enlists in the Militia.—An 
early Friend, and a Village Schoolmistress.—Sets out to join 
the Regiment.—Aberdeen.—Selected for an Officer's Servant, 
but rejected.—Some Doubts entertained whether Ignorance may 
not be of more Advantage to a Private Soldier than Education. 
—Misbehaviour, and likely to get into a Scrape.—Necessity of 
rigid Discipline. 

The narratives of travellers frequently furnish materials 
for the pen of the historian, the biographer, and the no¬ 
velist ; and however humble the individual may be, who 
assumes the task of giving to the public his remarks on 
the passing events of his time, or the incidents that have 
come under his observation, he may yet be found to merit 
the commendation of being, at least in some degree, both 
interesting and useful. 


B 



o 


RETROSPECT OF 




Since so many military memoirs have issued from 
the press during the last twenty-five years, it may be 
thought a rather presumptive undertaking on the part of 
a Soldier to usher another work of this kind into public 
notice. Yet amidst all the failures we daily witness in 
the book-makino- world, we still see fresh adventurers 
succeed to fill up the chasm occasioned by the unsuc¬ 
cessful speculations of their predecessors; and, although 
friendly hints may be given that this or that pursuit is 
overdone, the adventurers still pursue their course, and 
the usual results follow. Misfortune overwhelms the 
many, fortune favours the few, and the latter gives a 
stimulus to fresh adventure, while the former seldom 
serves as a warning to guard against the risk. That 
fortune has not favoured with wealth any of my grade 
of military journalists, I am aware, and the writers of 
this class have not been few; yet the records of some 
will be perused with interest, long after other wars, other 
enterprises, and other adventures enable other journalists 
to emulate, if not to excel them. With this prospect 
before me, I venture to incur the risk. 

Stimulated more by a desire to merit the esteem of 
my friends, and the good opinion of all who wish to 
maintain strict discipline in the army, than to reap any 
substantial reward for the labour of my pen, I come for¬ 
ward to offer this my mite for the use of those who may 
be pleased to cater for the public information, and lay 
before them some incidents which may have escaped the 
observation of more distinguished writers. With respect 
to the merits of the performance, I must leave it to the 
discrimination of the reader, cither to censure my pre- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


3 


sumption, despise my folly, or allow both to pass off 
disregarded. If censure be awarded, and the work con¬ 
demned, I shall have this gratification,—however mortify¬ 
ing it may be to my feelings to he censured, I involve 
no one in the loss hut myself. 

I shall not weary my reader by a reeitai of the uninte¬ 
resting occurrences of my boyish days, hut pass on to the 
period when I was about to hid farewell to my friends 
and native village. 

It was in the winter of 1802 that the Militia were 
about to be enrolled, and as my inclination was bent 
upon the army, I considered this the time to offer my ser¬ 
vice, if it would he accepted; hut I dreaded much being- 
rejected, as I had been, on a former occasion, for the Lint', 
in consequence of my boyish appearance and low stature. 
I succeeded, however, on half tiptoe , to strike the gauge, 
and was sworn in, a happy little fellow. Happy indeed, 
for the inseparable companion of my youth, my earliest 
acquaintance and friend, had been enrolled that day for 
the same corps; and I should have been grievously dis¬ 
appointed at being separated from him. 

I cannot say, however, that this happiness was altoge¬ 
ther unmixed with grief, particularly when I was about 
to take farewell of my poor widowed mother, whose heart 
was like to break at what, to say the least of it, she con¬ 
sidered a very foolish step of her son, and likely to lead 
to the ruin not only of his soul but of his body also. 
But, perhaps, few mothers feel otherwise than sorrowful 
at parting with their children, when about to enter upon 
a career so little in unison with the peaceful habits of a 
country or village life. Having blessed me in all the 

n 2 


4 


RETROSPECT OF 


sincerity of a mother s heart, she recommended me to my 
friend, as if he had been a sage of fourscore years.— 
Huntly, for that is the name by which I shall have occa¬ 
sion to mention my friend in the course of my narrative, 
promised to conform in all she solicited; and I must do 
him the justice to say, he never failed in that promise, so 
far as circumstances permitted. 

Huntly was, like myself, the son of a poor widow, 
who, in order to gain an honest livelihood, on the death 
of her husband, took up a school for the education of 
children; and, if I mistake not, it was the only one in 
the village kept by a female, for the purpose of teaching 
girls to knit as well as read. She might, indeed, have 
been considered more as a nurse to the children than a 
useful teacher of the English language, for they were 
placed under her care at so early an age, that she had 
frequently to take one on her knee and point out to it the 
letters of the alphabet, before it could well pronounce the 
name. I have often observed her seated in this manner, 
explaining the forms of this and that letter, in order to 
draw from the child the name, but to no effect, for the 
infant had fallen asleep in her arms. Had a parent been 
present to observe her on occasions of this kind, it could 
not have failed to excite a very favourable opinion of 
the widow. How tenderly she raised up the sleeper, 
and with a threatening nod, directed towards some noisy 
urchins, softened every voice to a whisper, until she had 
placed her sleeping charge on her bed, where it reposed as 
if under the eye of its mother. Her manner of teaching 
was just that which was best adapted for curbing in 
children that passionate excitement which bad nurses too 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


frequently encourage in the infant mind. When any of 
the children chanced to stumble or fall, she would, instead 
of exciting its anger against the inanimate object that had 
occasioned the accident, in an instant soothe its sudden 
sorrow and its cries by assuring the infant that she would 
forgive it, at that time, for injuring the object which 
had been in its way; and thus, instead of exciting the 
child’s passion, she never failed in drawing forth its 
sympathy, and in convincing it that itself had been the 
offender. 

The widow was certainly well respected in the village, 
and, though poor, I have heard her frequently boast, 
when advising bluntly, that she had been enabled to 
bring him up without incurring a debt that she was 
unable to discharge, save that which she owed to her 
Creator, and that she hoped he would always preserve 
the same spirit of uprightness and independence, and 
submit to every privation rather than forfeit the name of 
an honest man. Hopes had been frequently held out to 
her, that were she to conform to the established church, 
she might be recommended for a small salary, for she was 
a very useful woman in the place, but she preferred her 
own nonconforming principles to all the wealth that could 
be held out to induce her to abandon them. Yet, not¬ 
withstanding this rigidness, she would not suffer a child 
under her care to be instructed otherwise than agreeably 
to the doctrine of the national church. The Assembly’s 
Catechism was the first book put into the hands of a 
child ; the Proverbs of Solomon, the New Testament, and 
the Bible, w^ere the successive class-books in the widow’s 
infant school. The latter book limited the extent of 

b 3 


G 


RETROSPECT OP 


Huntly’s education, with a little smattering of writing 
and the three first rules of arithmetic. With regard to 
grammar, he knew as little of it as I did myself, and that 
did not enable me to distinguish a noun from a verb , or 
an article from a preposition. 

ITuntly’s father had left, at his death, a tenement of 
ground and a few dilapidated houses, together with about 
an acre of land contiguous: the annual rent and feu duty 
paid for the whole amounted only to a few shillings. 
This, with the infant school and her abstemious manner 
of living, enabled the widow to rear up her children in a 
decent respectable manner, if compared with some of 
those of the neighbourhood. She had placed Huntly with 
a weaver, who rented a shop under her own roof, to learn 
the weaving business; he was not satisfied with the 
choice made for him; and whether through a desire of 
seeing a little more of the world, or getting quit of a 
sedentary employment, it is needless to inquire; he 
emancipated himself from one service and bound himself 
to another. 

It w r as in April 1803 that my friend and I, accom¬ 
panied by a number of young men, enrolled for the 
militia, and left our native village, proud of being con¬ 
sidered soldiers. 

Having bidden farewell to our friends, we proceeded 
on our journey, which eventually has proved a long one, 
not yet finished, having been occasionally protracted by 
casual sojourns, and lengthened out by frequent demands 
on our service, the particulars of which I intend to place 
before my readers. In the mean time, I do not hold out 
to their expectation a tale of misery, of misfortune, of op- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


pression, or of unmerited sufferings. Thank God, we yet 
serve, and are, comparatively speaking, happy, notwith¬ 
standing the lapse of so many years ; we have gradually 
advanced, never retrograded, and are possessed of a com¬ 
petent share of our provident savings (not the fruits of 
guilty plunderings, with which our hands w r ere never 
stained), to enable us, with our expected pension, to en¬ 
joy the comforts of civil life, when our military service is 
over. 

We arrived at Aberdeen, received our billets, and the 
following day commenced our military avocations. 

At that time trade was unusually brisk, and improve¬ 
ments were in progress in every direction round that city : 
extensive manufactories had been established, were now 
enlarging, and others were forming; new streets were 
opening in variotis directions; large handsome buildings 
were advancing on every side; a splendid house for the 
office of the Aberdeen Banking Company wns nearly 
finished, and a new bridge was in great forwardness over 
the Den burn. These, with the erection of a number of 
small cottages along the banks of the canal and avenues 
leading to the city, gave such an active appearance to 
the scene, that I have not witnessed the like since. 
Certainly, the prospect was considerably enhanced in my 
estimation, by its being then altogether new' to me. 
Yet, on the whole, there certainly was something more 
interesting about the city and its environs at that time 
than perhaps may be witnessed for centuries afterwards. 
In short, I thought Aberdeen the focus of the happiest 
circle in the world; all was stirring life, nothing but 
cheerful bustle and business, while the youth from the 


8 


RETROSPECT OP 


farthest bounds of the Highland districts were pouring in 
for the purpose of being trained to arms. 

We had been only a few days in billet-quarters, when 
we were ordered to occupy the barracks. Here my pay- 
sergeant made choice of me to serve one of the officers. I 
was quite elated at being thus selected; however, my 
sergeant, to make sure of my abilities, gave me a pair of 
his own shoes to clean, as a trial ; this I finished so much 
in my own old country fashion, that he deemed me unfit 
for the situation. 

I should not be doing justice, however, to that worthy 
non-commissioned officer, who is now in his grave, in 
neglecting to mention that he pointed out one of the men, 
who had seen some service, to show me how to clean my 
own shoes and appointments. For this mark of attention 
to me, I acknowledged myself obliged 1 6 the sergeant, as 
well as to the man who had been so good as condescend 
to do me this service. Perhaps there was something of 
unsoldierlike awkwardness, or silly simplicity, in the 
manner in which I expressed my thanks, that drew upon 
me the sarcastic sneer of a little old snuffy snivelling sol¬ 
dier, named David Duffus, who was standing rubbing his 
breastplate beside the sergeant. “ Ha!” he exclaimed, 
addressing himself to the man wdio had been instructin'! 
me; “ he’ll make an excellent soldier that; lie’s a fine 
smooth-faced, soft-tongued, simple, ignorant boy.” This 
remark was made more with the intention of showing off 
his knowledge of character, than out of any desire to hurt 
my pride; and I joined with the rest in the smile at my 
own simplicity and ignorance. 

It may be a matter of doubt, whether learning or un - 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


9 


lettered ignorance enables a private soldier the better to 
submit with cheerfulness to all the commands which duty 
and discipline exact. Learning, when ill-directed, be¬ 
comes a curse to him, for he is considered the stimulator 
of others to disobedience, by becoming an advocate in 
their cause; and when found in a fault, his knowledge 
adds to its weight, and magnifies it to a crime, in the 
military code; while in the ignorant defaulter, some re¬ 
deeming qualification will plead in palliation of the offence. 
Learning, unpromotcd, is frequently if not always grum¬ 
bling, and by this means prevents itself from meriting 
reward. The ignorant man remains contented because he 
knows himself incapable of performing the duties annexed 
to the higher ranks; he knows also that the door of pre¬ 
ferment is not entirely shut against him, if by his own 
exertions he strives to merit distinction. The knowledge 
of this is wisdom in the unlettered man; the lack of this 
knowledge is folly as well as ignorance in the man of 
education. 

I do not know a more miserable being in the army 
than the self-sufficient arrogant man, who considers him¬ 
self “ all-wise” and u all-knowing.” He lectures to others 
concerning their ignorance and folly, while he himself 
becomes the dupe of those whom he considers less know¬ 
ing, yet who take the advantage of him, and leave him 
in the lurch, with his pretended wisdom for his consola¬ 
tion. 

I have been led to make these observations, in conse¬ 
quence of the misadventures of the man who made the 
foregoing remark on myself. He had received a tolerably 
good education, and had in early life been an itinerant 


10 


RETROSPECT OF 


dancing-master. Dissatisfied with that way of life, he 
enlisted in a Fencible regiment stationed in Ireland, where 
he served some years. Having been discharged at the 
close of the war, he entered as a substitute to serve in the 
militia. He was considered a knowing one ; his taste for 
dancing led him to frequent jig-houses , when he should 
have been in his barrack; and, after repeated warnings, 
he was brought to the halberds; soon after which he 
deserted, and was not heard of afterwards. 

I had gone through my facings very easily, and was, 
after a fortnight’s drill, honoured with a firelock. My 
pay-sergeant was the drill of the squad in which I was 
placed, and I was getting on, I thought, very fast, and 
was very proud of the sergeant’s praise. However, on 
one unlucky morning, my right-hand comrade sportingly 
whispered to me, as we brought our pieces to the level, 
at the word of command, “ Present’’ “ I ha’e Cocky Ross 
i’ my e’e.” “ Sheet him, then,” I whispered back. The 

sergeant could not overhear us, being more than twenty 
paces off, and our intentions were perfectly harmless, as 
we had wooden drivers in our firelocks, and no ammuni¬ 
tion in our possession. But those senseless whispers 
excited laughter, to which I was very prone, and my 
comrades joined in the smirk. For this ill-timed laugh, 
five of us were committed to the guard-house, with a 
threat of having us tried by a court-martial; and at the 
time in question very little constituted a crime sufficient 
for that purpose: we got off, however, with two nights’ 
confinement; and from that day I never attempted to 
laugh or make sport in the ranks. 

A regiment, on its being embodied, is generally sub- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


11 


rnitted to more rigid discipline than one of many years' 
standing; the materiel of which it is composed renders 
this absolutely necessary. 

Here in our lower ranks are to be found men of sober, 
quiet, obedient dispositions; others, drunken, turbulent, 
disaffected, and disorderly, whom nothing but the strong 
arm of the law and coercive measures will keep in any 
degree of subordination, and prevent from domineering 
over their peaceable well-disposed comrades; and it is 
only the disaffected, the licentious, and ill-disposed, that 
consider the prompt enforcement of order and discipline, 
by coercive measures, dispensible or unnecessary in the 
army. 

Philanthropists, who decry the lash, ought to consider 
in what manner the good men,—the deserving, exem¬ 
plary soldiers,—are to be protected; if no coercive mea¬ 
sures are to be resorted to on purpose to prevent ruthless 
ruffians from insulting with impunity the temperate, the 
well-inclined, and the orderly-disposed, the good must be 
left to the mercy of the worthless; and I am glad to say 
there are many good men in the ranks of the army. 

In civil society, the mechanic, the labourer, yea even 
the pauper, can remove from his dwelling or place of 
abode, if he finds himself annoyed by a violent or 
troublesome neighbour; but the good soldier cannot re¬ 
move without this despicable demon of discord accom¬ 
panying him, and yet we must be told that the lash is 
not to be used. The good soldier thanks you not for such 
philanthropy; the incorrigible laughs at your humanity, 
despises your clemency, and meditates only how to gratify 
his naturally vicious propensities. 


12 


RETROSPECT OP 


I trust the reader will not think T mean to insinuate 
that the ranks of the army are principally composed of 
such characters as I here point out as incorrigible. No! 
the incorrigible are few indeed, but the troublesome man 
has a wonderful dexterity in being present where he is 
not wanted, and absent where he should be present. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


13 


CHAPTER II. 

Route to Fort George.—Arrival and Remarks.—Satisfied with my 
Situation, and Cause of my being satisfied.—Route to Edinburgh. 
—Keith.—Defeat of a Band of Highland Plunderers there.—Im¬ 
provements in the neighbourhood of Keith.—Huntly. 

It was not supposed, at the time of our enrolment, to be 
the intention of Government to keep the Militia regiments 
embodied beyond twenty-eight days annually; but during 
that short period, war was declared, or anticipated, and 
we remained, contrary to expectation, to follow a military 
life. 

In the month of June, we were ordered to Fort-George, 
where we arrived after a very pleasant march by Old 
Meldrum, Turriff, Banff, Portsoy, Cullen, and Fochabers. 
In the neighbourhood of the last mentioned town is the 
princely residence of the Duke of Gordon. Here we were 
liberally entertained at the expense of his Grace, and free 
admission was given to view the gardens, woods, and 
walks around the wide domain of Gordon-Castle. 

From Fochabers we proceeded by Elgin, Forres, and 
Nairn to the Fort. 

Fort George is so remotely situated that few soldiers 
like to be quartered within its walls. There is no town 
of consequence nearer to it than Inverness, which is up¬ 
wards of thirteen miles distant ; and instead of bread 
being served out to the troops as at other stations, a cer- 

c 


14 


RETROSPECT OF 


tain allowance of oatmeal' was issued. To our north 
country men, this substitute proved more acceptable than 
bread, as it enabled those who were inclined for a break¬ 
fast mess to have one in the manner to which they had 
been accustomed; to others it afforded sufficiency for cakes 
as well as a little surplus for sale, and a good price was re¬ 
ceived for such as we had to dispose of. We were served out 
with half a pound of beef or mutton per man, daily. This 
was a quarter of a pound less than military allowance; 
but if we did not get it, we did not pay for it; and we 
were all satisfied with the quantity, for it was fully suffi¬ 
cient. Indeed small allowances of provisions are always 
best, when we can purchase to our own satisfaction either 
with regard to quantity or quality. Why force upon us 
more than is barely necessary for subsistence, when we can 
get of our own choice to purchase ? The quarter-masters 
will not bear me out in this, but the soldiers will. The 
former will say, “ The men will get drunk if they get 
moneythe latter may with as much justice say, 
“ Gluttony is worse than drunkenness.” 

The country, in approaching the Fort, is a bare, bleak, 
barren moor, with a few patches of ill cultivated ground, 
surrounding turf-built huts, which are in danoer of being 
cast over the sterile fields like so much manure, by the 
wintry tempests that sweep over that unsheltered wild. 
The Moray Firth washes three sides of the Fort, and on 
the other, the irreclaimable face of the country scarcely 
produces a blade of grass; furze bushes are thinly sprin¬ 
kled over the rough stony moor, for upwards of a mile, in 
the direction of the small village of Campbeltown; but 
even to that place, inconsiderable as it was, we were not 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


15 


permitted to go, as it was beyond the prescribed limits. 
On purpose to evade this inhibition, some soldiers, of a 
regiment quartered in the Fort, lifted the milestone and 
placed it against the further end of the public-house in 
which they intended to regale themselves, and when they 
were brought back, and about to be tried for surpassing 
the limits prescribed for their perambulations, they pleaded 
that they had not gone beyond the milestone, and were 
pardoned; no doubt, more on account of the humour of 
the frolic than of the right to legal exculpation. 

Notwithstanding these circumscribed bounds, to which 
I may say we were confined, the Fort afforded pleasures 
enough for me; my wants were few and easily gratified ; 
if I was inclined for exercise, the drill-ground afforded 
ample space for any gymnastic amusement, and there 
were never wanting some congenial spirits to enter the 
lists. If I wished to indulge myself in solitude, I could 
do so without interruption, and, though the neighbourhood 
presented little but sterility, the distant prospect was 
interesting and grand. Methinks I even now cast my 
eyes towards the mountains and shores of Ross, where 
ancient Channery and pleasant Rosemarknie display their 
busy craft along the shelving coast. The setting sun im¬ 
beds himself in golden skirted clouds, and throws his 
amber beams over the waters, to the dark woods of Cul- 
loden; while the shadows of a hundred hills extend over 
the placid Firth, and rise on the bristled bastions of the 
garrison. 

But the low man of sensuality loves the house of de¬ 
bauchery better than the contemplation of such prospects 
as these; his licentious spirit finds no pleasure but in 

c 2 


16 


RETROSPECT OF 


scenes of intemperance and '’riot, which inevitably lead 
him to infamy and disgrace. 

Indeed, I look back to Fort George as the place where 
I first enjoyed freedom, and to the time of my residence 
there as the beginning of the enjoyment of life. I was 
then astonished to hear men complaining of want of 
amusement, and want of luxuries, to which they had 
been accustomed. Perhaps the manner in which I had 
been brought up tended to promote this feeling of satis¬ 
faction which I enjoyed. I had been habituated to the 
most simple and spare diet upon which youth could sub¬ 
sist, while at the same time my mother never failed to 
impress upon me the praiseworthy qualifications of tem¬ 
perance, industry, and economy. Indeed, Sparta never 
had her equal in respect to what may be called self- 
denial ; and she ceased not, by precept as well as example, 
to impress upon me the same contempt of ease and luxury 
which she herself entertained. 

After being brought up in this manner, I can feel no 
surprise at my being then better satisfied with my lot than 
those who had been more indulged; and that life which 
thousands looked upon as bondage, I considered freedom, 
and was seldom or never unhappy. 

Indeed, of all the ranks in the army, none has so little 
to give his mind uneasiness as the private soldier. He is 
answerable only for his own conduct, while every other 
rank, from the corporal up to the general, feels an anxiety 
respecting the duty and conduct of those under him, in as 
much as he may incur censure for their neglect of duty, or 
for an overstretch of authority on his own part; and though 
the blame and punishment may fall heavier on those who 


17 


A MILITARY LTFE. 

have been personally guilty, yet there is in the army a 
certain responsibility on the superior which give& him no 
cause to exonerate himself when any failure in those 
under him takes place ; consequently, he must be always 
on the alert to guard against crime or neglect, and cannot 
enjoy that independent ease of mind which a private 
soldier may do; yet, notwithstanding the enviable ease 
of mind within reach of the latter, it would not answer 
the purposes of the army were every man to remain satis¬ 
fied with his lowly rank, as it is essentially necessary that 
soldiers should be possessed of ambition; their country 
demands it, and ease of mind must be sacrificed to the 
necessities of duty, however poor the reward. 

The regiment remained in Fort George until the 
end of October, when we proceeded on our route to 
Edinburgh. 

The weather was rather unfavourable during our march, 
but the kindly manner in which we were generally re¬ 
ceived by those on whom we were billeted, made us for¬ 
get the unpleasant weather and disregard our fatigues. 
Better would it be for some soldiers, when on the line of 
march, were they to make themselves satisfied with, and 
agreeable to, those on whom they may be billeted, and 
refrain from insisting on having accommodation to which 
they have a doubtful claim. I have been frequently re¬ 
ceived in a rather ungracious manner, but invariably 
found some kindly attention paid to me before parting. 

It is often the case in Scotland and Ireland, that 
soldiers are quartered on a class of people who have so 
little accommodation for their own families, that they 
cannot look with any degree of complacency on the poor 

c 3 


18 


RETROSPECT OF 


wearied soldier, when lie enters their house; but this is 
only the impulse of a moment, and a more kindly feeling 
will be found to succeed this momentary displeasure, when 
no insolence is offered to cause its continuance. I have 
frequently seen the mistress of the house, on which I 
have been billeted, under the necessity of making a bed 
of straw for some of her own family, in order to afford a 
bed for myself and comrade; but this I rejected, and re¬ 
quested permission to lie on the straw. I have seen some 
soldiers, however, insist on having the second best bed 
in the house, provided there were a choice to be had, and 
even telling the landlord or landlady that a soldier had a 
right to the best. Such conduct is detestable. 

Our route was directed by Nairn, Forres, and Elgin. 
At the latter place, the ruins of the old cathedral continue 
to attract the attention of strangers and the lovers of 
antiquity. 

From Elgin we proceeded to Fochabers, thence to 
Huntly, by Keith. There are two towns of this name, 
the old and the new. The former, situated on the Isla, is 
of great antiquity, but now dwindled to a few houses. 
On the north bank of the river, and overlooking the 
bridge, is the house of Cooperhill; this has been a public- 
house from time immemorial, and is memorable in the 
neighbourhood for having been taken possession of by a 
band of outlaws, who were set upon plundering the coun¬ 
try, but were defeated here with great loss. The defeat 
was principally owing to the presence of mind of the 
maid-servant, who was employed in preparing sowens be¬ 
fore the door of the house when the Cateran or banditti 
approached. They were led on by Petrie Roy, a daring 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


19 


Highlander, who, the better to secure the attachment of 
his followers, gave out that no man born of woman could 
vanquish him. This, he alleged, had been announced to 
him by a familiar spirit, or weird. He had been successful 
in levying contributions on the low country, and had 
carried off an immense number of cattle to the Highlands. 
Strengthened by fresh adventurers, and encouraged by the 
mysterious being with whom he was supposed to have 
intercourse, and who had announced in her own enigma¬ 
tical manner, on being consulted by him, previous to his 
setting out on this adventure, “ Hold on to Keith, and 
then to Leithfull of the hopes that he should plunder 
successfully all the w T ay, he arrived at Cooperhill about 
breakfast-time; and as no such guests were expected, 
no preparations had been made. The country was not 
yet alarmed, nor apprehensive of receiving such unwel¬ 
come visitors. The Cateran (for such those robbers were 
designated as a body) placed their muskets against the 
wall of the house, and set about enjoying themselves at 
free quarters within. Meantime the servant-maid very 
dexterously contrived to pour a small quantity of sowens 
into each of the muskets, * without being observed, and 
messengers were despatched to alarm the country; while 
the bellman, perched in a window under the kirk-bell, 
began to sound the tocsin, and it is said that the knells 
were heard throughout the neighbouring parish of Grange 
to a distance of eight miles. 

The country assembled from all sides, rallying under 
the banner of Glengarrick. The Highlanders issued forth 

* From this circumstance arose the by-word, common in the north 
of Scotland, w hen a piece misses fire, “ There is sowens in your gun.” 


20 


RETROSPECT OF 


tumultuously on the first sound pf alarm, seized their 
arms, and urged on by their leader and animated by the 
loud warlike notes of the bagpipe, flew to the kirk in 
order to seize the ringer; but he was perched above their 
reach, their muskets were found to be useless, and he 
continued his powerful exertions until the bell rent. 

The inhabitants were assembling fast, and the conflict, 
the details of which are now involved in some doubt, was 
commenced either in the churchyard, or on the bridge 
over the Isla. According to the traditional parochial ac¬ 
counts, Glengarrick was the hero, a strong powerful man, 
the owner of some lands on the banks of Isla, now known 
by the name of Newmills. Ilis mother died before giving 
him birth, and he was extracted by the Caesarian operation. 
So far the legendary accounts affirm, in order perhaps to 
accomplish him for the overthrow of his weirded anta¬ 
gonist. 

Glengarrick’s first fury lighted on the piper, whom he 
threw over the bridge into the Isla, which bore him down 
its rapid stream to the linn * (or fall), over which he was 
precipitated, still firmly grasping his pipes, which gave 
their last groan as their owner sunk in the agitated waters 

O o 

below. 

Having despatched the man of martial music, Glengar¬ 
rick next encountered the chief himself. The conflict 
would have been worthy of a place in the Iliad, had the 
two chiefs fought under the Trojan wall, and had had a 
Homer to record the contest; but under the walls of a 
poor obscure parish-kirk, and among the silent dwellings 

* The linn 19 nearly a mile from the bridge. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


21 


of the dead, no record perpetuates the event, no bard has 
given the song of exultation to the victor, or of lapienta- 
tion for the vanquished, to awaken the remembrance of 
the strife among future generations. Petrie, pressed hard 
by the powerful arm of Glengarrick, began to parley, 
at the same time acquainting the latter that no man 
born of woman could overcome him. “ Then I am 
that man!” exclaimed the fresh-inspired chief, “ and 
your days are numbered.” The Highlander recoiled a 
pace, his heel struck a half-sunk gravestone, he fell back¬ 
wards, and was pierced under the ribs by the victor. 
Meantime the Cateran, finding their muskets useless, 
threw them aside, and engaged hand to hand with their 
increasing and implacable enemies: they flew to the as¬ 
sistance of their fallen chief, and Glengarrick would 
have been included among the number of the slain, had 
not a blacksmith (not inferior to the one who fought 
against Clan Quhele on the North Inch of Perth) sprung 
to his assistance, armed with one of the biers (hand- 
spokes) on which the dead are borne to the grave, and 
with his own hand laid twelve of the outlaws lifeless at 
his feet. The sun was set before the few surviving High¬ 
landers fled from the scene of strife, leaving their helpless 
companions to the mercy of their victors, and their dead 
to find a grave beneath a cairn. 

Petrie, neglected amidst the excited combatants, with- 
drew to a neighbouring farm, and took shelter in a barn, 
where, faint and exhausted, he sunk down on a heap of 
straw. Here he was discovered by a young woman be¬ 
longing to the house. Surprised at the strange appear¬ 
ance of the blood-besprinkled man stretched before her, 


22 


RETROSPECT OF 


she flew to her master, lately returned from the fight, 
and related to him the discovery she had made. The 
outlaw was immediately secured and conveyed from Keith 
to Leith, where it is said he died of his wounds. 

The new town of Keith is about a mile from the old 
town, and was begun to be built in 1750, on a barren 
heathy moor, the property of the Earl of Findlater. It 
consists of three broad streets, with several others cross¬ 
ing, all of them in straight lines; and there is a spacious 
square in the centre, which forms the market-place. 

Notwithstanding the original sterility of the ground 
on which the village has been erected, by the encourage¬ 
ment of the proprietor, and the industry of the settlers, 
the soil has amply rewarded the labourer for his toil, and 
recompensed the proprietor for the encouragement given, 
by increasing the value of his adjacent lands. 

About two miles from Keith is the village of New- 
mills; it is the property of the Earl of Fife, and was 
feued for building about twenty years after the for¬ 
mer. It is more pleasantly situated, having the Isla 
running close by it; several bleachfields line the banks of 
the river, and the whole site is also reclaimed from a 
barren waste; cultivation is spreading rapidly around, 
and bidding fair to banish the dreary solitudes of Ault- 
more. 

The first feuars of this village were poor emigrants 
from the remote glens of the Highland districts; being 
hemmed in on every side by wealthy neighbours, who 
proscribed their little flocks from trespassing on pastures 
once considered free, but now farmed and rented by 
strangers, no alternative was left but to perish in poverty 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


23 


or remove. Here they found an asylum ; here they strug¬ 
gled with adversity, and, persevering, overcame dt by 
industry. The children now have the pleasant prospect 
of green fields, fruit-trees, and rich crops, where their 
fathers, at their settlement, saw only the yellow furze, 
the hardy juniper, the fern, or the stunted heath. 

From Keith we climb the dark brow of the Balloch 
and approach Huntly. 

Huntly ! Oh, how sweet is that name to my ear! 
Thirty years have nearly elapsed since the period of 
which I now W’rite, yet the prospect is fresh before me, 
and dear to my remembrance is each object. Methinks 
I approach that delightful valley, and with light elastic 
step sweep round the skirts of the rocky Bin, and cast 
my eye on the winding Deveron, as it rolls rapidly past 
the ruins where rest the remains of my humble ancestors. 
Humble, indeed; forgotten, they lie in yonder solitary 
neglected spot, * wdiere the mouldering walls crumble over 
their graves, and the long nettle, the thistle, the dock, 
and the briar mingle their heads over the silent dwellings 
of the dead. Flow on, thou troubled stream; I love 
thy hoarse murmurings; perhaps my own bones may yet 
rest on thy green banks, if they escape withering on the 
battle-field of a foreign land. 

I now turn my eye towards the dilapidated remains of 
ancient grandeur: roofless stands the castle, tenanted by 
noisy daws. What devastations do a few years make on 
the perishable works of man! Often have I climbed its 
lofty battlements and admired the figures carved round 


* 


The churchyard and ruins of Peterkirk. 


24 


RETROSPECT OP 


the eaves. There, on a belt of no mean architecture, 
were conspicuous the founders’ names, “ George Gordon, 
first Marquis, and Henrietta Stewart, first Mar¬ 
chioness of Huntly:” the date 1605. These are now 
effaced, the roof has disappeared, the stairs are gone, and 
the succeeding generation may perhaps say, “ Where did 
the castle stand?” A modem building (Huntly Lodge) 
looks towards the ruins, and owes not a little of its 
aggrandizement to the dilapidation of the latter. I hail 
thee, Huntly, my native place, the abode of my industri¬ 
ous, honest, frugal friends. I appreciate all the former 
acts of kindness conferred on me, and I now feel proud of 
the welcome I receive; yet scarcely have I time to ac¬ 
knowledge it before I must bid adieu. 





A MILITARY LIFE. 


25 



CHAPTER III. 

Lawrencekirk. — Brechin.—Edinburgh. — Lodging-house. — Working 
Parties.—Prison Duty at Greenlaw, and Quarters at Pennycuick. 
—Cropping the Hair.—Berwick.—Holy Island. — The Author 
volunteers to the 42d Regiment. 

From Huntly we proceeded by Inverury to Aberdeen; 
thence by Stonehaven to Lawrencekirk. On leaving 
Stonehaven we crossed a small stream, which recent 
rains had swollen beyond its usual channel; there were 
stepping-stones, so that one could have easily avoided 
dipping his foot in the stream; but not to lose time in 
passing, the rear pressed forward on the front, so as to 
occasion a jostling, by which a number missed the stones 
and slipped into the water: I was one of this number, 
and with my shoes well soaked, and pinching my toes, 
marched on to Lawrencekirk. By this time my feet 
were blistered, my ankles swollen, and my shoulders cut 
with my knapsack slings. Fortunately I got a good 
billet, as usual, though nearly a mile from the town. My 
worthy landlady, who had all the milk of human kindness 
in her disposition, made me sit down and bathe my feet; 
for 1 was about to go to the mill-dam for that purpose, 
but she would not permit me; but ordered warm water, 
and gave me some whisky to rub on my ankles; and this, 
in a few hours, had the desired effect of allaying the 


D 



26 


RETROSPECT OF 


swelling and removing the pain. My comrades (for 
there were four of us in the billet) rallied and jeered 
me on being the gudewife’s favourite; but I did not take 
these rubs amiss, and my hostess w T as not the less kind 
to me. 

From Lawrencekirk we marched to Brechin, a neat 
town situated on the side of a hill, overlooking the richest 
soil, and the best cultivated I had ever seen. The South 
Esk, a beautiful river, flows past Brechin towards Mon¬ 
trose, where it falls into a bay of the German Ocean. 

The cathedral church and adjoining tower are of great 
antiquity; the former was built in the twelfth century, 
the latter at an earlier period: it is a distinct building 
from the church, though separated only by a few inches ; 
it is a hundred and three feet in height, and was built by 
the Piets. 

The country about Brechin has been the scene of many 
contests recorded in the annals of Scotland. Between this 
town and Dundee lies the moor of Manroman, lately a 
free public common or government property. The old 
inhabitants remember when this moor extended more than 
eight miles in length by six in breadth, without the 
mark of a plough-share; but of late years, successive 
encroachments have been made upon it by the neigh¬ 
bouring proprietors, in making enclosures and erecting 
farm-steadings. 

The traditionary accounts of old inhabitants lead us 
to suppose that a great battle was fought upon this spot, 
between the Romans and the Caledonians, before the 
former reached the foot of the Grampians, and in which 
they were defeated; and from this circumstance it re- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


27 


ceived the name of Manroman, or Minroman. A num¬ 
ber of small hillocks and long ridges are poihted out 
as the graves of the slain. 

From Brechin we pursued our route by Forfar, Cupar- 
Angus, Perth, Kinross, and Queensferry, to Edinburgh; 
the weather continuing unfavourable, and the face of the 
country was frequently covered with snow. 

On our arrival at Edinburgh, my comrade and I were 
billeted on a house in St. James’ Square. The family 
could not, or would not, admit us, in consequence of 
which the servant-maid was sent with us to procure other 
quarters. After conducting us through countless closes 
and lanes, from the Calton, where she commenced her in¬ 
quiries, to Blackfriars’ Wynd, and from that to the Abbey, 
carefully selecting the most gloomy abodes of the poorest 
class of lodging-houses, we were settled at last, more 
wearied than satisfied, in an old wooden building oppo¬ 
site Queensberry House; and although we were made 
very welcome by the mistress and her family, there was 
something not altogether favourable in the interior ma¬ 
nagement of the house; it was a promiscuous receptacle 
for all classes, and sometimes rather disorderly. 

In a small closet adjoining that which we were to oc¬ 
cupy, lodged three unfortunate girls, lately arrived from 
Hamilton, from which place they had been induced (by 
promises of marriage) to follow their lovers, now stationed 
near Edinburgh. These poor girls, after being drawn so 
far from home, were disappointed, and they now felt 
ashamed to return. Yet, although they had acted incon¬ 
siderately, and perhaps with some levity, they were 
neither idly nor wantonly inclined; they were diligently 

d 2 




28 


RETROSPECT OF 


employed a few days tambouring fine muslin, and when 
this work failed, they rose early every morning, walked 
barefooted to Leith, and were there employed unshipping 
coals. At night they returned to a cold welcomeless 
house, to prepare their scanty meal; while some ungener¬ 
ous hints were thrown out, as they were turned from the 
fire, that they might not only keep the house in fuel, but 
themselves above working at such a dirty job. These poor 
girls were sensible that they had acted wrong in leaving 
their home, relying on the faith of worthless lovers; 
but they were still honest, and as yet they had not been 
under the necessity of throwing themselves on the town; 
and the only reply given to their jeering scoffers was a 
sigh or a tear. They removed from that loose lodging- 
house, but, left to their own exertions, and more exposed 
to ill-advisers and bad example than to generous pro¬ 
tectors or good company, they fell victims to their own 
easy belief in the word of a lover. 

Loose and noisy as this lodging was, we were well 
enough satisfied with it for our quarters; and our land¬ 
lady, who was the wfife of some veteran serving abroad, 
knew well how to manage her house so as to make the 
most of it. 

I shall here mention our usual meals (with which we 
were perfectly contented) during the time we were in 
quarters, as they differ so widely from what soldiers now- 
a-days are accustomed to; premising, that we had our 
provisions, without contract, at our own purchasing. We 
breakfasted about nine in the morning, on bread and 
milk ; dined about two in the afternoon, on potatoes and 
a couple of salt herrings, boiled in the pot with the pota- 





A MILITARY LIFE. 


29 


toes: a bottle of small-beer (commonly called swipes) 
and a slice of bread served for supper, when we were 
disposed to take that meal, which soldiers seldom do. 
On the whole, I am certain our expenses for messing, 
dear as markets were, did not exceed three shillings and 
sixpence each, weekly; and to do our landlady justice, 
she was not anxious to encourage extravagance in pre¬ 
paring and cooking our meals, particularly such as required 
fuel and attention; and in these matters we were far from 
being troublesome or particular. Our obliging landlady 
would, when requested, bring us a pennyworth of soup, 
called kale , for our dinner, instead of herring; and if we 
had a little cause to remark on the want of cleanliness in 
the dish, or its contents, she jocosely replied, “ It tak’s 
a deal o dirt to poison sogers.” 

After being quartered in this house a few weeks, the 
regiment was ordered into the Castle, which we occupied 
nearly two years. During this period (1804) the Leith 
wet-docks were forming, and gave employment to a great 
number of labourers as well as to soldiers. Such was the 
demand for willing hands, that not an idle man was to be 
found in the barracks, while these works were carrying on : 
all were actively employed, with the exception of those left 
for the purpose of duty. I was one of the latter class, 
and considered myself well paid by being allowed to mount 
guard for some of those at work, when it came to their 
turn of duty, as they seldom paid less than two shillings 
for each turn; and I was very saving of this money, on 
purpose to send to my mother a pound note occasionally ; 
and by saving for her, I was also led on to save for myself. 
I had about fifteen pounds deposited in the hands of a 

d 3 



\ 


30 RETROSPECT OF 

friend when I entered the Militia, and before I left that 
corps for the Line, I had good bills for sixty. I was also im¬ 
proving a little in personal appearance; short as the time 
had been since the regiment was embodied, I had sprung up 
a couple of inches, and was selected for the light company. 

It would, perhaps, be improper to permit the system of 
working, just alluded to, to be carried on in the regular 
army, from which a pension becomes certain to the in¬ 
valid ; but where men are drawn from their homes merely 
for the purpose of being trained to arms, for the defence 
of their country upon any emergency, and no permanent 
benefit is expected to arise from the service otherwise, it 
is well to encourage in every individual, so drawn out, a 
spirit of industry. It is the means of enabling him to re¬ 
turn improved in the avocation from which he may have 
been called, and with a resolution to benefit by increased 
information and experience. 

I shall pass hastily over those scenes of every day 
occurrence, and place before my reader what may be 
considered of more interest. 

From Edinburgh we marched to Haddington, where 
we remained upwards of a year. Our next removal was 
to Musselburgh, from which we sent detachments to da 
duty over the prisoners of w r ar at Greenlaw. This was a 
light, and in some respects even an amusing duty. The 
prison was fenced round with a double row of stockades ; 
a considerable space was appropriated as a promenade, 
where the prisoners had freedom to walk about, cook 
provisions, make their markets, and exercise themselves 
at their own pleasure, but under the superintendence of 
a turnkey and in the charge of several sentries. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


31 


The prisoners were locked up at sunset, and then the 
sentries, who were out of immediate view of the guard¬ 
house, laid their firelocks against the sentry-boxes and 
amused themselves by playing at putting-stone, pitch-and- 
toss, and such-like amusements, without fear of detection; 
for a cordial unity of feeling existed throughout the corps, 
so that as soon as the officer, sergeant, or corporal of the 
guard made his appearance, it was notified in an instant 
to the most remote corners, without his being aware of 
the communication, and our gambling amusements in¬ 
stantly ceased. 

While our duty was thus easily and pleasantly performed, 
the prisoners of war under our charge were far from being 
severely treated, as some have stated; no work was re¬ 
quired at their hands, yet few of them were idle. Some 
of them were occupied in culinary avocations, and as the 
guard had no regular mess, the men on duty became ready 
purchasers of their lahscuse salt-fish, potatoes, and coffee. 
Others were employed in preparing straw for plaiting; 
some were manufacturing the cast-away bones into dice, 
dominoes, paper-cutters, and a hundred articles of toy- 
work; while a considerable number were employed in 
vending these articles, and by this means realised con¬ 
siderable sums of money. 

Thus time passed with the prisoners; they might have 
thought themselves well off, but in general they did not 
think so, for they were still prisoners, and longed to be 
again free. 

* Labscuse is a thick soup consisting of very little minced meat, a 
good seasoning of pepper, and plenty of potatoes. It may be said to 
be a dish between potatoe-soup and Irish stew. 



32 


RETROSPECT OF 


I sliall leave it to the political economist to determine, 
whether there was justice done to the country, or kind¬ 
ness shown to the prisoners, in keeping them thus shut 
up unemployed to public advantage. Those prisoners 
were well provided for in every respect, and treated 
with the greatest humanity; yet to the eye of a stran¬ 
ger they presented a miserable picture of distress, while 
some of them were actually hoarding up money by the 
most unjustifiable means, evading taxes to which our 
industrious artisans had to submit, and even forging our 
paper currency without being arraigned. Others were 
actually naked, with the exception of a dirty rag as an 
apron,—some even destitute of this; and strangers who 
visited the prison commiserated the apparent distress of 
this miserable class, and charity was frequently bestowed 
on purpose to clothe their nakedness ; but no sooner 
would this set of despicables obtain such relief, than they 
took to the cards, dice, or dominoes, and in a few hours 
were as poor and naked as ever. From the wretched 
appearance of those gamesters, casual visitors and philan¬ 
thropists concluded that the fault lay in the management ; 
but a Howard could not have made these wretches more 
comfortable, without having recourse to strong coercive 
measures; for, strange as it may appear, when they were 
indulged with permission to remain in their hammocks, 
when the weather was cold, they drew the worsted out of 
the rugs that covered them, wound it up in balls, and 
sold it to the industrious knitters of mitts , and left them¬ 
selves without a covering by night. 

The inhabitants of Pennycuick and its neighbourhood, 
previous to the establishment of this depot of prisoners, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


33 


■were as comfortable and contented a class of people as in 
any district in Britain. The steep woody banks ^of the 
Esk were lined with prospering manufactories; neat houses 
and cleanly cottages rose on each side of the road leading 
to the village and overlooking the windings of the river. 
All these were tenanted by an industrious thriving com¬ 
munity, principally paper-makers. 

At these manufactories, the young as well as the old ob¬ 
tained employment according to their abilities, and liberal 
wages were given. Their hours of labour were generally 
from three or four in the morning until the same hour in 
the afternoon. This rendered it unnecessary to light can¬ 
dles during any part of the evening, either in summer or 
winter; and the leaving off work so early in the afternoon, 
afforded sufficient time for domestic labour or rural sports. 

The cleanliness required in some of the departments of 
these manufactories, particularly that assigned to the wo¬ 
men, was attended with the best effects, and displayed 
itself in the superior neatness and comfort of their dwell¬ 
ings; and no place could boast of women so decently, 
so genteelly, yet so unostentatiously dressed, as those on 
the lovely banks of the Esk. 

At that time there were only one or two public-houses 
in Pennycuick, and none in Kirkhill, which contained 
nearly as many inhabitants; in short they were a thrifty, 
thriving, sober, well-disposed, kindly-hearted people. 

When the soldiers (militiamen) were first quartered 
here, they met with a welcome reception, and were hos¬ 
pitably entertained: this was too frequently but poorly 
requited; and in the course of a few years, those kindly 
people began to consider the quartering of soldiers upon 




34 


RETROSPECT OF 


them more oppressive than they at first anticipated. Trade 
declined as prisoners increased; and instead of trades- 
mens shops starting up into notice, public-houses were 
springing up, displaying the ill-drawn outlines of frothing 
jugs to the passengers and thirsty soldiers; while the lat¬ 
ter, getting their provisions at a reasonable rate from the 
inhabitants, expended their pay in these houses, and too 
often led astray the younger branches of the families on 
whom they were billeted; and a laxity in the moral feel¬ 
ings and orderly habits of the rising generation visibly 
crept in. One of the principal factories (Valleyfield) was 
afterwards converted into another depot for prisoners, and 
Esk-mills into a barrack for the military; this gave a de¬ 
cisive blow to trade, and several of the most active indus¬ 
trious young men emigrated to America, while others left 
their native home to carry the knowledge of their craft to 
other parts of the kingdom. 

During the time that the regiment was quartered in 
Musselburgh, a general order was issued for the army to 
discontinue the tying of the hair, and to have it cropped. 
Never was an order received with more heartfelt satisfac¬ 
tion than this, or obeyed with more alacrity, notwith¬ 
standing the foolish predictions of some old superannuated 
gentlemen that it w r ould cause a mutiny in the army. 
The tying was a daily penance, and a severe one, to which 
every man had to submit; and there is little doubt but 
this practice had been introduced by some foreign fops, 
and enforced by antiquated prigs, as necessary to the 
cleanly appearance of the soldier. It had been very inju¬ 
rious in its effects on the general comforts of those who 
were obliged to submit to it, and the soldier looks back to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


35 


the task with the painful remembrance of the punishment 
he suffered every morning, daubing the side of his head 
with dirty grease, soap, and flour, until every hair stood 
like the burr of a thistle, and the back was padded and 
pulled so that every hair had to keep its due place; if 
one less subordinate than the rest chanced to start up in 
spite of grease, soap-latlier, and flour, the poor man had 
to sit down and submit his head to another dressing, and 
afterwards parade for inspection among the defaulters of 
the regiment. A certain latitude and longitude was as¬ 
signed for the breadth and length of the queue, to which a 
gauge was frequently applied, in the same manner as 
some modern sticklers for uniformity, at this day, use a 
measure to ascertain the dimensions of the soldiers’ folded 
greatcoats at guard-mounting; but with this difference, 
the coat receives no bad impression from the stickler’s 
gauge, whereas the greased and powdered hair retained 
the mark, and the poor fellow who had the misfortune to 
have the powder brushed aside by his awkward inspector, 
stood a chance of being turned off parade to have his hair 
dressed afresh, just as if the unlucky mark rendered him 
unfit for any military movement, or divested him of all 
the requisites of a soldier. 

Indeed it was no uncommon circumstance for us, when 
on the guard-bench and asleep, to have the rats and mice 
scrambling about our heads, eating the filthy stuff with 
which our hair was bedaubed. W e now look back to that 
time with a feeling of contempt at the absurdity of that de¬ 
testable custom, and bless the memory of that prince who 
emancipated us from such an annoying and filthy practice. 

It is an old saying and a true one, “ Long wars make 





36 


RETROSPECT OF 


good soldiers.” They not only make good soldiers, but 
they make good commanders, and enable them practically 
to know what is most conducive to the soldiers health, as 
well as to his efficiency for the service. The cropping of 
the hair was followed, some years afterwards, by an order 
for discontinuing the wear of white breeches on service. 
A gentleman, who had a servant to perform his work and 
assist in the arrangement of his dress, might have thought 
white small-clothes very suitable for a soldier; but they 
were neither pleasant, cleanly, nor comfortable to him ; 
for the least stain appeared upon them, and the coarse 
quality of the cloth put washing with pure water and 
soap out of the question; they had therefore to be rubbed 
full of pipe-clay and whitening, so as almost to blind the 
poor man so employed with the dust. Here we had a fair 
exterior for a field-day; but if the weather was hot, the 
perspiration and whitening fretted and prickled our thighs; 
if it rained, the cloth becoming saturated, the pipe-clay 
dust was little better than quicklime; if the streets were 
dirty, the woeful marks flew from our heels to our breech, 
as if some wicked elf had followed with a paint-brush. 
But setting aside these serious annoyances, they -were 
generally made so tight and braced up so firm, ihat we 
almost stood like automata of wood, mechanically ar¬ 
ranged for some exhibition on a large scale. To stoop 
was more than our small-clothes were worth; buttons 
flying, knees bursting, back parts rending; and then the 
long heavy groan when we stood up, just like an old cor¬ 
pulent gouty man after stooping to lift his fallen crutch. 

From Musselburgh the regiment marched to Edin¬ 
burgh, whence, after a twelvemonth’s stay, it was ordered 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


37 


to Berwick, a fortified town on tlie north bank of the 
Tweed. The sea beats with great violence along this part 
of the coast, and notwithstanding that it presents a bold 
rocky front to the ocean, it is yielding to the never-ceasing 
action of the waves, which have undermined and broken 
down the adjoining banks in some places to a considerable 
extent. 

Until Scotland and England acknowledged one sove¬ 
reign, Berwick was one of the most important military 
posts in Great Britain, and more blood was perhaps shed 
in its neighbourhood than in the vicinity of any other 
town in either country. Happily for both countries, and 
no less so for Berwick, those deadly feuds have ceased 
since the two countries became united. 

Berwick is a county of itself, independent of Scotland, 
yet gives name to the neighbouring shire, of which Green¬ 
law is the county town. It is connected with Tweed- 
mouth, a large dependent suburb, by a bridge of fifteen 
arches. The town being considered in England, notwith¬ 
standing its situation on the north side of the river, is 
governed after the manner of other English towns. A 
mayor, recorder, town-clerk, and four aldermen form its 
magistracy; it is under the ecclesiastical authority of the 
Church of England, and in the diocese of Durham, to the 
prelate of which great honour is paid, on his occasional 
visitations to the place. 

Marriages are performed at the Scotch toll-bar in the 
neighbourhood, in the same manner as at Gretna, and as 
frequently. 

In no part of Britain have the young women a more 
stately carriage of body, than in this place and neigh- 

E 


38 


RETROSPECT OP 


bourliood. This may he not a little owing to the manner 
in which they are accustomed to carry the water-pitcher, 
or laglin , on their heads, from the cistern or well ; which 
custom invariably requires a steady step and an erect car¬ 
riage, while that of carrying the pitchers or pails by their 
sides gives to the body an awkward and stooping gait, 
not easily thrown off. 

There is something peculiar in the manner in which 
the natives hurl over the pronunciation of the letter r; 
this is called “ the Berwick burr ,” and prevails from 
Ayton to Alnwick; and some consider it as giving a 
pleasant though somewhat childish effect to the dialect. 

From Berwick the regiment furnished a detachment to 
Holy Island Castle, about nine miles distant. Here are 
the extensive ruins of an ancient monastery, part of which 
serves for a parish-church. On the beach, below the 
castle, are found small pebbles of the shape of beads, half- 
perforated, and about the size of peas; the inhabitants 
call them St. Cutlibert’s beads. Some seriously affirm 
that the monks of this monastery, under the patronage of 
St. Cutlibert, carried on a most extensive traffic in the sale 
of consecrated beads, and not only drew immense wealth 
to the shrine of the saint, but were enabled to remit a 
considerable revenue to the papal treasury. It happened, 
however, about two centuries before the reformation, that 
a small bark loaded with the half-finished material was 
wrecked on approaching the roadstead without a pilot, 
and the scattered half-perforated drops, now found along 
the beach, are alleged to be part of the sacred freight. 
Such at least is the traditionary story in the island. 

Near the entrance of the church is a large stone, over 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


39 


which it is customary for a bride to leap when she is 
going to be married, or after the ceremony is performed. 
If she leap freely and without stumbling, it is considered 
an omen of future comfort in the married life; if other¬ 
wise, the contrary. 

From Berwick we removed to Dalkeith, from which a 
strong detachment was sent to do duty over the prisoners 
of war at Greenlaw and Valleyfield. My friend Huntly 
had been promoted some time previously to be a corporal, 
and perhaps with this small step of promotion his ambi¬ 
tion soared; and as little prospect of further advancement 
appeared to gratify his views, he determined to volunteer 
his service to the Line. His remark was, “ I serve at 
present secure of life and limb, but with no prospect of 
future benefit in old age, which I may attain; it is better 
to hazard both abroad in the regular service, than have 
poverty and hard labour accompanying me to a peaceful 
grave at home.” I concurred in his opinion, and he forth- 
with waited on the commanding officer and signified his 
intention to volunteer into any regiment which that officer 
might be pleased to recommend. The offer was accepted 
in the most favourable manner, consequently my friend 
placed his name on the list for the 42d (the regiment re¬ 
commended), and I was not the last to follow the example ; 
several others added their names to the roll, and after a 
few weeks, we were despatched to join the depot of the 
regiment at Inverness. 


e 2 


40 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER IV. 

Arrival at Inverness.—Appointments and Disappointments.—The Au¬ 
thor sent on the Recruiting Service to Edinburgh, and gets married. 
—Recalled to Inverness, and ordered to join the first Battalion of 
the Regiment in Spain.—Some unpleasant Occurrences on hoard. 
—Land at Passages.—Ranturea.—Lazzaca.—Drawing Rations.— 
St. Stephano.—Allesander. — Foraging Parties.—Joins the Regi¬ 
ment. 

On our arrival at Inverness, we were offered a furlougli 
for two months, an indulgence usually granted to volun¬ 
teers from the Militia. 

I have mentioned that Iluntly was a corporal when he 
volunteered; he had not been aware, until this offer of 
a furlough was made, that he could not he borne on 
the strength of the regiment otherwise than as a private, 
lie did not consider this, in common speaking, “ fair play/' 
Had he been detained as a supernumerary, without the 
pay, he would have been satisfied, as this would have given 
him some hopes of succeeding to a vacancy, but that was 
denied; he therefore declined taking a furlough, trusting 
that he would be sent out with the first draught , to join 
the battalion serving in Spain. He stated to the officer 
commanding the depot his reason for declining the prof¬ 
fered indulgence, at the same time expressing his disap¬ 
pointment at being reduced. The officer heard him with 
patience, perhaps with some feeling of sympathy, but held 
out no prospect of his being reappointed. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


41 


A soldier who lias been once considered deserving of 
promotion, and lias attained it, ought to he very tenacious 
in retaining it; if he is deprived of it by means of his 
own misconduct, he has himself to blame; but he who is 
unexpectedly reduced without a fault, and left without 
a prospect of being reappointed, may be justified in making 
an appeal to his commanding officer. 

Huntly thought he had shewn sufficient cause why he 
should not be reduced from the little rank lie had acquired, 
but he was mistaken; however, as he had attained that rank 
without solicitation, he was determined not to lose it with¬ 
out a struggle. He was one of those who was thought to 
regard passive obedience as a virtue in a soldier ; but when 
it came to himself for trial, he spurned it as a detestable 
vice, fit only for slaves. He appealed to that officer at whose 
instance he had made choice of this regiment; the appeal 
was condescendingly received, and as favourably answered. 
In short, there being a vacant sergeantcy at the time, my 
friend was appointed to it, by the order of the most noble 
the Marquis of Huntly, colonel of the regiment. Huntly 
was thus far successful through the advocacy and recom¬ 
mendation of that officer, and I feel confident he will 
never disgrace that recommendation. I may be permitted 
to add, that I was promoted at the same time. 

It is certainly not a little vexatious to an old soldier to 
see a young one stepping in before him for promotion, and 
thus depriving him of the expected reward of hard service. 
Yet had it been our worse fortune to have been kept back 
in rank, we would not have considered the officer then in 
command as having acted unjustly towards us; we had rea¬ 
son however, to congratulate ourselves on our success. 

e 3 


42 


RETROSPECT OF 


I accepted of two months’ furlough, and after passing 
the time as is usual on occasions of this kind, returned 
to Inverness, from which, in a few days, I was ordered to 
Edinburgh along with a party on the recruiting service.^ 

Notwithstanding my having been so lately on fur¬ 
lough, I requested permission to proceed to Edinburgh 
by Huntly and Aberdeen. This is nearly seventy miles 
farther than by the Highland road (the route laid down 
for the party); and some doubt was consequently enter¬ 
tained by the officer commanding, of my being able to 
march by that circuitous route so as to arrive at Edinburgh 
as soon as the others; however, on my promising to be 
there on the day stated, if not sooner, I received permis¬ 
sion, and set out that afternoon, accompanied by four 
young men ordered to join recruiting parties stationed 
on that line of road. 

Our knapsacks contained our complete kits * as well as 
our new greatcoats, and were far from being light; but 
our hearts were not heavy nor our limbs feeble; we 
travelled all night and reached Keith a little past noon 
next day, a distance of fifty-six miles. My companions 
having little farther to go, in order to reach their respec¬ 
tive parties, remained in Keith next day, while I set 
out alone to Iluntly, Avhence, after calling on a few 
friends, and bidding them farewell, I proceeded to I 11 - 
verury. This was a journey of more than thirty miles 
that day. Next morning I reached Aberdeen, where my 
mother had been some years residing; here I rested five 
days, and on the sixth proceeded on my journey. I 

* Kit is a term used for the whole that a soldier is obliged to carry 
in his knapsack, viz. shirts, stockings, shoes, brushes, &c. &c. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


43 


reached Montrose about sunset, having thus travelled 
thirty-seven miles. The next day I travelled to Kirkcaldy, 
a distance of forty miles. I cannot say that I had any 
necessity for thus pressing forward, but as I now consi¬ 
dered myself a soldier in reality, and having promised to 
be in Edinburgh as soon as the party that was marching 
by the shorter route, I was determined to inure myself to 
fatigue and privation, so that I might have less cause to 
consider these distressing if they should come upon me 
unexpectedly. I may also observe, that in performing this 
journey I wore a sort of hose termed moggans ; these are 
hose from which the feet have been cut, the spats cover this 
deficiency, and the legs appear as if the under parts were 
complete. This was an excellent method for hardening 
the feet, so as to accustom them to bad shoes and bad 
roads. I cannot say, however, that I was singular in 
adopting this plan of 'wearing feetless hose; for I afterr 
wards observed, on joining the regiment, that very few of 
the men wore any other kind, although they had complete 
ones in their possession. 

I arrived at Edinburgh on the 6th September, but the 
party from which I had separated at Inverness did not 
arrive until the third day after. 

I had formed an early acquaintance, while in the 
Militia, with a young girl, whom I greatly esteemed. In 
her I saw all that was good and agreeable. Years had 
elapsed since we had seen each other, and fortunately I 
chanced to meet her on my arrival; fortunately, I may 
say, for so it has proved; we were mutually surprised at 
seeing each other, and truly happy. In a few months she 
became my wife, and has shared with me in all my for- 


44 


RETROSPECT OP 


tunes, over field and flood, in camp and in quarters, in 
war and in peace, without any unpleasant reflection at her 
own share of suffering. 

After passing about eight months on the recruiting ser¬ 
vice, I was ordered to Inverness, where, after remaining a 
few days, I embarked along with the draught, on purpose 
to join the first battalion, serving in Spain. We had a plea¬ 
sant coasting voyage to Gravesend, where we disembarked 
and marched to Portsmouth ; here transports were in 
readiness to take a number of troops out to reinforce the 
army. 

We embarked on the 17th August, 1813, along with a 
detachment of cavalry and a detachment of the 79th regi¬ 
ment, and stood out to sea. Calms and gentle breezes 
favoured us until we reached the Spanish coast and cast 
anchor at the mouth of the Ybaichalval, where the cavalry 
disembarked, and our captain commanding on board went 
on shore, on purpose to proceed to Bilboa, situated a few 
miles up that river, whence he was to proceed to join us at 
Passages, where we were to land. On the removal of the 
cavalry, our accommodation between decks was consider¬ 
ably enlarged, as the space vacated was taken possession 
of immediately. This being all settled, the call was given 
for 44 Rum * a call to which every ear was open, and a 
hundred voices repeated it from stem to stern, and a busy 
bustling scene ensued and continued for some minutes 
afterwards. 

* Every soldier on board is allowed one-third of a pint of rum daily. 
Some commanding officers cause it to be reduced to two or three • 
water grog, before serving out. I cannot say how far this is necessary 
for the men's health ; but I know it is not liked by the men, and I 
never saw those grog recommenders take it themselves. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


45 


The acting quartermaster-sergeant of the 42d on hoard, 
had been the only individual whose conduct during the 
voyage tended to give displeasure; but this displeasure 
had not been openly manifested. He was a mean, tip¬ 
pling, talkative little fellow, and had been daily on the 
watch, during the voyage, to have the first issue of spirits 
for the men on his draught. He was the more importu¬ 
nate in demanding it as a right of seniority, as he thought 
he should be supported by the captain commanding, who 
belonged to the same corps. But when the captain left 
the transport, the men of the 79th did not feel inclined 
to yield any longer to this assumed demand; and when 
our busy sergeant, who had been engaged below assigning 
convenient berths to his dram-giving favourites, presented 
himself on deck, the acting quartermaster-sergeant of the 
79th was being served. This the officious little fellow 
■would by no means allow, and an altercation took place, 
which induced the officer who succeeded to the command 
to interpose, and our insubordinate hero treating that 
officer's authority with contempt, was placed under arrest, 
and on joining the regiment, was tried by a court-martial 
and reduced to the ranks. 

It is sometimes the case that a soldier of the loivest 
estimation, by his ill-timed boasting, will excite a spirit of 
bad feeling between two regiments ; but when disrespect 
or contempt is openly manifested by a non-commissioned 
officer, especially if lie be a somewhat leading personage 
among his equals, towards the officers of another corps, it 
seldom fails to lead to an open rupture, if not timely sup¬ 
pressed, and every man of the corps to which the strife¬ 
stirring individual belongs, ought to spurn him from his 


46 


RETROSPECT OF 


presence as a general nuisance. Indeed our men had be¬ 
come ashamed of this tippling sergeant’s behaviour, and 
the whisper had been for some days, that our friends of 
the 79th displayed a very praiseworthy forbearance, in not 
resenting the conduct of this officious character; and 
instead of supporting him, we were ready to censure his 
unjustifiable proceedings. 

Let us be ever so much addicted to drinking or drunk¬ 
enness ourselves, we never fail to consider it as a vice, 
condemn it in our inferiors, despise it in our equals, and 
most cordially join in speaking disrespectfully of a supe¬ 
rior addicted to it. 

We landed at Passages on the 7th September, and pro¬ 
ceeded without delay to Ranturea; here an old convent 
was assigned for our quarters, and we occupied it two 
nights. The courts and lower part of the building were 
taken up by batmen, muleteers, and bullock-drivers, with 
their horses, mules, asses, and oxen. The dilapidated 
apartments above were assigned for the quarters of the 
soldiers, who found it necessary to unhinge the doors and 
window-shutters, on purpose to cover the joists, from which 
the flooring had been torn up for fuel. The slabs were 
raised from the lobbies and courts below, and laid in the 
centre of the upper rooms, for the purpose of fire-places. 
Thus, by hasty devastations, this once revered abode of 
monks, friars, and priests was exposed to every kind of 
pollution, blackened with the smoke of a hundred fires, 
fed by its own altars and furniture, and the walls left a 
naked monument of the ravages of war. 

If the confusion of Babel was bad, this was worse. 
Below, the tinkling of mule-bells never ceased, the neioh- 

' to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 47 

ing of the horse was answered by the braying of the mules 
and asses ; the bellowing of the half-starved oxen mingled 
with these, and echoed through every room and vault of 
the building; while the loud and frequent exclamations 
of “ Carachue!” by the muleteers, gave no rest but to 
such as were totally overpowered with sleep. Indeed a 
number of the men were far from being disposed to rest; 
some having indulged themselves too freely in the juice of 
the grape, or the more pernicious libations of aquadent* 
heretofore unknown to them, were brawling incessantly ; 
others were disposed for singing and merriment; while 
exclamations of “ D—n you, keep silence!” burst from 
tw r cnty mouths at once. Amidst this scene of uproar, some 
poor luckless wight, with disordered stomach and bowels, 
was scrambling on all-fours, groping his passage to the door, 
getting a kick from one and an oath from another, till 
unable in the darkness to find egress, he discharged his 
unwelcome burden upon some one asleep and dreaming 
perhaps of the waves dashing against the prow of the 
vessel from which he so lately debarked, and in which he 
thinks himself still a passenger, till one surge sweeps the 
deck, breaks over his head, and starts him from his dream, 
when, to his inexpressible surprise, he finds himself be¬ 
smeared by the evacuations of a bewildered comrade. 

Thus passed the hours usually devoted to sleep, while 
the distant booming of the battering-train laying siege to 
St. Sebastian, apprized us of our proximity to the scene 
of hostilities, in which we ourselves might be soon called 
upon to engage. 

* Aquadent is an ardent spirit distilled from the refuse of the grape, 
raisins, and anniseed. 


48 


RETROSPECT OF 


Welcome morning came at last. Ah! how we poor 
soldiers do anticipate time! We lie down after the 
fatigues of the day, happy that they are over, yet our 
minds full of the concerns of to-morrow; the morning 
comes, and we wish for the night, as if time did not fly 
swift enough to bring us to the close of our duty, our 
servitude, and life. 

We here met with a corporal, who had been sent from 
his regiment on purpose to purchase shoes at Passages for 
the men of his company. A fleet having arrived from 
England, this was just the time to obtain a supply, and 
the men were in great want of that article: had he pro¬ 
ceeded without delay in order to obtain the first advan¬ 
tage, he might have succeeded with some credit to himself 
and satisfaction to the shoeless men; but he was one of 
those who sacrifice duty to their selfish pleasures, and 
instead of proceeding as he ought to have done, he hung 
about our party until he was incapable, and thus lost an 
opportunity of making a good purchase. In this manner 
a number of drunken scamps left their duty unperformed, 
and returned with some plausible apology for the want of 
success. 

A soldier ought to form very few acquaintances, for by 
the multiplicity of his connexions his duty is liable to 
be compromised; it becomes an intolerable burden, is 
neglected, perhaps abandoned altogether; and he becomes 
a curse to his corps, and an enemy to the best interests of 
his country. 

After resting two nights at Ranturea, we proceeded to 
Lazzaca, at that time the head-quarters of Lord Wel¬ 
lington. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


49 


Our captain, who had left ns at the mouth of the 
Ybaiclialval, joined us at Passages, and took the com¬ 
mand. This officer had served a campaign in Portugal 
along with the second battalion of the regiment, and con¬ 
sidered himself more knowing in military affiiirs than 
the young officers who were under his command; but 
whatever knowledge he might have acquired in military 
tactics, he betrayed a great want of geographical infor¬ 
mation, at least so far as regarded the topography of that 
part of the country in which we were now about to be 
stationed; for instead of leading us on the direct road to 
Lazzaca, he marched us along the straight road to Bayonne, 
until our advanced picquets convinced him of his error. 
In order to remedy this mistake, he procured a guide, 
and made a retrograde movement that brought us to a 
road similar to the dried up channel of a mountain tor¬ 
rent. This rugged path, by which we now proceeded, 
was narrow, winding, and in some places almost imper¬ 
vious ; one false step from our path, in those places, would 
have been instant death, so steep was the declivity to our 
right, that human foot had never marked its side, or 
reached in safetv the gulf-like bottom. 

At times the eye was gratified with the most romantic 
views; but soldiers, almost breathless and panting be¬ 
neath the burden of arms, ammunition, accoutrements, 
and heavy knapsacks, felt but little pleasure in feasting 
their eyes on such scenes of solitary grandeur. 

In several places we found the traces of recent encamp¬ 
ments, distinguishable by the few huts that still remained 
on the spot, and the blasted appearance of the woods in 
the vicinity, the trees presenting their naked, leafless, 


50 


RETROSPECT OF 


blackened branches, as if drooping under the spell of some 
necromancer. The huge trunks were excavated and rent 
by the camp-fires that had been lighted under their ample 
shades. The abrupt craggy knolls, which frequently half- 
encircled those table fields, raised their summits, like 
watch-towers, on high, while their rents and rifts were 
clustered with dwarf trees, ferns, and shrubs, the yellow 
leaves of which hid the nakedness of the rocks in -which 
they were rooted. 

Evening was approaching as we entered Lazzaca, and 
we found in it a scene of activity beyond any thing we 
had as yet observed; the streets were lined with innu¬ 
merable fires, at which the soldiers and followers of the 
army had been cooking, and some were still occupied in 
their culinary avocations ; troops of mules were passing 
and repassing, others loading or unloading, while not a few 
were enjoying their provender, and their guides reposing 
under the arcade of some adjoining building. 

Our day’s march over, we had now to look out for our 
next day’s provisions. The commissary stores being nearly 
a league further, a small party of us had to proceed thither 
to draw the rations; on our arrival, we found the bullocks 
alive, and the butchers about to retire to rest, and not 
over willing to recommence work. I think the men so 
employed belonged to the Guards, and it is but justice to 
say, that they did their work cleverly, exclaiming as they 
stripped to perform, “We shall not let the poor High¬ 
landers wait long for our service.” And they were as 
good as their word; we were grumbling much at the 
distance we had been obliged to come, but the sympa¬ 
thizing expression of “ poor Highlanders” warmed our 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


51 


hearts towards the Guardsmen, so that our disregarded 
grumbles ceased at once. When the spirits, however, 
were measuring out, a considerable hole was observed in 
the measure, which occasioned a fresh grumble, I may say 
an uproar, for it was nearly all issued before the fraud 
was detected. The place where the issue was made was 
lit with one dim glimmering light, and the liquor, pre¬ 
vious to being measured out, was drawn off into a large 
tub, in which the measure was immersed, filled to the 
lip, apparently good measure, but the hole let off more 
than two men’s share in every gallon. We were always 
particularly tenacious of good measure when we were re¬ 
ceiving, though we felt no scruple in dipping our own 
thumbs pretty deep into the measure with which we 
made the distribution, justifying ourselves no doubt, in so 
doing, as it were on purpose to prevent drunkenness and 
secure ourselves from loss ; a very justifiable consideration 
on our own part, if we could get others also to think so, 
and allow us to be the distributors. Perhaps there are 
few frauds committed, but what the committer reasons 
with himself in this manner, till he believes he is acting 
laudably, notwithstanding that it displays a slight want 
of honesty. 

After passing a night in a broken down convent, we 
left Lazzaca. I say passing, for of rest we had none, in 
consequence of a fire having been lit, by some careless 
fellow, on the floor of one of the rooms which was boarded, 
and caught the fire, and set us in a bustle to put down 
the flames before the alarm spread; happily we suc¬ 
ceeded, and the whole party marched off in the morning 
without detection. 


52 


RETROSPECT OF 


We now proceeded on a good road to St. Stephano, a. 
small town situated in a delightful valley, through which 
the Bidasoa winds its course, overhung with woods, or 
lined with pleasant fields, fruitful orchards and gardens, 
which happily had escaped the ravages of the contending 
armies, and the visits of marauders from the craving camps. 

On the following day we marched to Allesander; here 
a number of hospitals were established for the sick and 
wounded of the army, and detachments of British soldiers 
were moving from the interior of Spain, where they had 
been detained by wounds, sickness, or duty, but now 
about to join their respective corps. 

We were now approaching the scene of hostilities, and 
perceived different parties of foragers ranging the country, 
and cutting down the abandoned harvest. Some of those 
parties belonged to the camp, others to the commissariat. 
The batmen of the respective brigades composed the camp 
foragers; and these, in looking out for provender for their 
animals, furnished themselves by stealth with any useful 
portable article they could conveniently slip into their 
haversacks, so as to be carried off with impunity from the 
houses which they sometimes visited. The foragers be¬ 
longing to the commissariat consisted principally of Por¬ 
tuguese, escorted by some soldiers. These roved over the 
country, purchasing live stock, as well as other necessary 
stores for the provisioning of the army ; but it may be 
observed, that in bargaining, more attention Avas paid to 
individual interest than to public advantage or quick dis¬ 
patch. Cattle were bought from the farmers and resold 
with impunity; for the purchaser paid in promissory 
checks on the commissary, and the value of those checks 


53 


A MILITARY LIFE. 

depended merely on the success of our arms, consequently 
could not be considered otherwise than doubtful. The 
farmer, therefore, upon receiving back his cattle, by a 
secret compromise, gave back the checks, and a consider¬ 
able sum to boot; the party then proceeded to another 
farm, to drive fresh bargains, harass the country, and de¬ 
lay the supplies. It was not a little owing to this sort 
of dealing, that our provisions were of so inferior a quality 
to what might have been procured. 

The road continues good from Allesander until we 
reach Mayo, a small village which gives name to one of 
the mountain passes. From this village w r e ascended the 
heights on which the sixth division of the army was 
encamped, and there terminated our route as a draught 
from the second battalion. 


F 3 


54 


RETROSPECT OP 


CHAPTER V. 

Preliminary Remarks concerning the Regiment.—The Commanding 
Officer, Adjutant, and Sergeant--Major.—Failure in serving out 
Provisions.—Obliging Quartermaster-Serjcant.—Accommodation 
in Camp.—View of the Country from the top of the Mountains. 
—Erect a Hut. — Obliging Disposition of the Men. — Mount 
Guard.—Drunkenness and Vain-boasting.—Advance, and witness 
a distant Engagement. 

After being named off to our respective companies in 
the regiment, we were conducted to our tents. Here we 
were surrounded by a number of inquisitive soldiers, some 
congratulating us on our arrival, others enquiring for old 
acquaintances left behind, and not a few desirous to know 
what the public opinion at home was concerning the ope¬ 
rations of the army of which we now formed a part. 

I perceived my fellow-travellers beginning to open their 
budgets of letters, in order to put them in circulation; as 
for myself I had none to deliver, and I began to think 
that I had been rather careless, on leaving the second 
battalion, in not soliciting, from a well-wisher or friend, 
some recommendatory letter, so as to secure me the good 
opinion of a superior, or at least an equal, to whom I 
might appeal for support or apply for advice in the event 
of wanting either. It was too late, however, to remedy 
my neglect, and I cannot say, now when writing this, 
that I have much occasion to regret that omission; for. 


A MILITARY" LIFE. 


55 


though my path has not been strewed with roses, it has 
not been so thorny as to stop my advance. 

Before I proceed further in my narrative, I shall make 
a few preliminary remarks, and trust that, in so doing, I 
need offer no apology for some animadversions that may 
follow regarding the conduct of individuals, as it is by 
pointing out errors that we know how to avoid them, and 
by concealing them from view, if we do not injure, we cer¬ 
tainly do not benefit those who are to tread in the same 
path. The necessary restrictions placed upon a soldier cer¬ 
tainly prevent him from coming forward to accuse one 
placed over him of petty acts of oppression, such as a man 

in civil life would not suffer without resenting. It is not 

© 

to be thought, however, that the former feels less the in¬ 
dignity or the sting of degradation, although he does not 
retaliate, and dare not avenge. It is therefore a mean 
cowardly action for one placed in power to pride himself 
in insulting or brow-beating a man who dares not retaliate 
without committing a crime, and incurring certain punish¬ 
ment. That such overbearing conduct was common in some 
regiments, cannot be denied, indeed it w^as too general; 
but I confine my remarks to that which has come under 
my own observation in the regiment to which I now be¬ 
long, trusting that should they ever meet the eye of one 
of those who pride themselves in looking on an inferior 
with contempt, he will correct himself and act in a more 
manly manner in future. 

I shall not be prolix in my encomiums upon the regi¬ 
ment’s superiority in discipline to that of others; indeed 
I Cannot; to say the truth, it was rather lax in this re¬ 
spect. Colonel Stirling commanded the regiment at the 


56 


RETROSPECT OF 


time I joined it; but in a few days thereafter, lie resigned 
the command, went to England, and was appointed 
major-general. On his leaving the regiment, the com¬ 
mand devolved on Lieutenant-colonel Macara, a brave 
man, who feared no personal danger, but was not well ac¬ 
quainted with field manoeuvres or military tactics. This 
might have been owing, in a great measure, to his prede¬ 
cessor seldom having been absent from the regiment; so 
that not having the command sooner, he had not the 
opportunity of perfecting himself, by that practice which 
is absolutely necessary for one about to lead a regiment 
into the field. 

It is a well known fact, that the most active officer in 
a regiment, if he has never been in front of the parade to 
take command, makes but a very awkward display of his 
abilities, on his first attempt to conduct the movements of 
a battalion: such appeared to be the case with Colonel 
Macara when he assumed the command, and this was at a 
time, and in a place, presenting many obstacles to his im¬ 
proving himself by practice. First, the ruggedness of the 
mountains prevented precision of movements; secondly, 
the weather had become so unfavourable that every fair day 
was dedicated to some other necessary purpose about the 
camp, and instead of acquiring practical knowledge him¬ 
self, even his regiment was losing part of that which it had 
perhaps previously possessed; thirdly, draughts of undis¬ 
ciplined recruits were occasionally joining and mixing in 
the ranks, and being unaccustomed to field movements, oc¬ 
casioned a sort of awkwardness in the performance of them. 
Even after our return from the continent, when the regi¬ 
ment was quartered in Ireland, many obstacles started up 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


57 

unfavourable to field practice, namely, old soldiers and 
limited service men being discharged, the second battalion 
joining, the principal part of which were recruits, and men 
who had been years in French prisons ; the detached state 
of the regiment, after all these had been squad drilled, 
left but few soldiers at head-quarters to enable the com¬ 
manding officer to practise with. In this manner we 
continued until the battle of Waterloo, when his fall at 
Quatre-Bras threw a halo round his expiring command, 
which places him on the list of our bravest countrymen. 

Lieutenant Innes performed the duty of adjutant; he 
was an excellent officer, particularly correct in the ma¬ 
nagement of regimental business and arrangement of 
duties. I cannot be mistaken in saying that he was a 
good man, for I never heard a bad one speak well of him, 
for he was an enemy of bad men; but the most worthless 
could not but allow afterwards, when he fell on the battle - 
field, that he left not a braver behind. 

Clark was our serjeant-major,—a good, kindly-hearted, 
brave soldier. Some may think me too prolix in my de¬ 
tails, by giving a place to the sergeant-major, passing 
over names of higher rank and greater consequence; but 
to a soldier this needs no apology, for he knows that the 
commanding officer, the adjutant, and the sergeant-major 
are the mainsprings which set all the regimental machinery 
in motion. Indeed, it is notorious the influence that some 
sergeant-majors have in their respective corps. If the 
commanding officer be of an easy complying turn, or of 
a repulsive, haughty, don t-trouhle-me disposition, and 
the adjutant, which is often the case, not over well in¬ 
formed, the sergeant-major is consulted on all occasions; 


58 


RETROSPECT OF 


if a man be confined or reported for some misconduct or 
occasional neglect, the sergeant-majors opinion will be 
asked as to character, which he may establish or injure 
at pleasure, for who will be called upon to contradict 
him, especially if a few trifling incidents be adduced 
by him in support of what he has stated. In short, he 
has much more to say between the non-commissioned 
officers and commanding officer regarding the poor sol¬ 
dier’s conduct than all the captains and subalterns of the 
regiment. A drill-sergeant has not a little in his power, 
in forming good or bad principles in the young recruit; 
and I am sorry to say that, for the most part, the regi¬ 
ment was much at a loss in this respect, so far as regarded 
the formation of a sober character. As I may have occa¬ 
sion to revert to this subject in the course of the following 
pages, I shall return to the camp and the concerns con¬ 
nected with the regiment and the duties I had to per¬ 
form. 

On joining the regiment, I considered my duties with 
the draught at a close; but in this I was disappointed, 
for the regiment having previously received rations for 
the following day, it became necessary to issue the same 
allowance to the draught, and this duty fell upon me to 
perform. I was assisted in drawing the quantity, and in 
the distribution, by one of the corporals. AYe had also a 
number of generous obliging old soldiers, all strangers to 
us, but extremely willing to serve in distributing the pro¬ 
visions, not only on our own account, but on that of those 
who had lately arrived; yet with all this assistance, we 
were deficient of bread and meat for three besides mvself: 
the captain was one of the three, and the most discon- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


59 

tented at the deficiency. I was not a little puzzled how 
to make up the loss, as there was no such thing as meat 
to be got for money. Luckily the quartermaster-sergeant 
was at hand, and called me aside and obligingly made up 
the loss; thus all our affairs were settled satisfactorily. 

I cannot pass over this disinterested act of kindness, 
done to me by this generous man, without a painful feel¬ 
ing at his early exit from this war-breathing, peace-seek¬ 
ing world. He now rests in the grave of his fathers, 
alike unconscious of the praise of a friend and the cen¬ 
sure of a foe; and in paying this small acknowledg¬ 
ment to his memory, I have no other purpose to serve 
than to bring his forgotten merits to the recollection of 
those who have seen him, but knew not the goodness of 
his heart. 

Fraser was but an enlisted boy in the regiment, when 
he was taken notice of by Colonel Stirling for his regular, 
quiet, sober, yet active manner of conducting himself ; 
he was sent to school, and afterwards appointed school¬ 
master-sergeant, the first, I believe, in the regiment; but 
when the battalion was ordered abroad, he declined re¬ 
maining at home, went out with it, did the duty of 
quartermaster-sergeant, and I may add, that of quarter¬ 
master also, for both these functionaries, soon after their 
arrival in the Peninsula, obtained leave to return to 
Britain, and a subaltern officer was nominally appointed 
for the latter duty, while to all intents and purposes 
Fraser performed both, so far as not to intrude himself 
where the superior was required or demanded. In his 
behaviour, he was sedate, without sullcnness; cheerful, 
convivial, and full of jocularity, without intemperance or 




60 


RETROSPECT OF 


injuring the object of his mirth. He was master of a 
masonic lodge held in the regiment, and happening to 
observe the arms of that body cut on the mess-tin I had 
on my knapsack, he took me for a brother, and acted as 
one towards me, until death robbed the regiment of one 
of the best of its men, and myself of a kindly and warm¬ 
hearted friend. 

After having seen the provisions distributed, I set about 
looking out for some accommodation for my wife, for we 
had not as yet been accustomed to lie on the open field, 
as in bivouac, nor even seen the like, and the tent was far 
from comfortable for a poor, wearied, young woman; I 
shall not mention delicacy, for that would be out of place ; 
we must submit to circumstances. The names of seven¬ 
teen men were on the roll of the tent besides myself, so it 
may be easily guessed how crowded it must have been, 
had the whole been off duty, but this was seldom the 
case. However, as. no other shelter was to be had, we 
took a berth under it. Eleven soldiers lay in it that 
night along with us, all stretched with their feet to the 
centre and their heads to the curtain of the tent, every 
mans knapsack below his head, and his clothes and ac¬ 
coutrements on his body; the one half of the blankets 
under, and the other spread over the whole* so that we 
all lay in one bed. Often did my poor wife look up to 
the thin canvas that screened her face from the night-dew, 
and wish for the approaching morn. It was announced 
at last, before daybreak, by an exclamation of “ Rouse !” 
which passed from tent to tent along the lines, when 
every man started up, folded his blanket, and strapped it 
on the back of his knapsack, ready for a march, and soon 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


61 


afterwards tlie sound of bugle and drum echoed from hill 
to hill; meanwhile the army stood to arms, each regi¬ 
ment at its alarm post, until about sunrise. 

The view from the summits of these mountains, at that 
early hour, when the sun began to gild their tops, and to 
throw his cheering rays on the white canvas which speckled 
their sides, was grand beyond description. The valleys 
below were hidden under an ocean of white wreathing 
mist, over which the hills, like a thousand islands, raised 
their rocky summits amidst the pure serenity of a cloud¬ 
less atmosphere; the white tents of a British army 
spotted their sides, while ten thousand bayonets glit¬ 
tered around. The drums, fifes, bugles, and wild warlike 
strains of the Highland bagpipe, drowned the notes of a 
hundred useless instruments that offered their softer sounds 
to the soldiers’ ears. Flocks of vultures hovered around 
to feed on the bodies of men who had fallen in sequestered 
spots by the hostile bullet, and were left to wolves and 
birds of prey, along with the carcases of the exhausted 
animals that had failed in bearing their oppressive bur¬ 
dens to the expectant camp. 

As the sun rose over the mountains, the misty vapours 
rolled away, and all the vales, woods, streams, and dis¬ 
tant cottages appeared to view. What a lovely prospect 
this must have been to the once happy native of the soil! 
Those hills, once covered with flocks of sheep; those val¬ 
leys, where the herds of cattle were richly fed, and the 
husbandman reared the vine, the olive, the fig, the lime, 
the orange, and all the fruits peculiar to a genial soil and 
a salubrious climate; those woods which once rung with 
the voice of gladness, and echoed to the music of a happy, 

o 







RETROSPECT OF 


62 

contented, peaceful peasantry; and those cottages, once 
their cherished abode,—all these I now behold spread out 
beneath me, and I think I see an aged man, whose respect¬ 
able appearance bespeaks him to have witnessed better 
days, mourning over the scene, bewailing the fate of his 
country, and dropping a tear over his own misery. Those 
hills are now covered with warlike encampments, and in 
place of herds of cattle, columns of soldiers move along the 
valleys. The vines and the fruit-trees are cut down for 
fuel; the wood falls on every side beneath the soldiers’ 
hatchets, and reverberates the voice of revelry. The cot¬ 
tages, which once appeared as white as the snow that 
covers the top of Ben-Nevis, are stained with the smoke 
of surrounding fires, while the owner stands afar off, in 
his secret retreat, beholding the desolation that surrounds 
his once happy dwelling; perhaps some straggler of his 
flock strays to its wonted haunts, and he sees it fall a 
victim beneath the knife of a foreign soldier. He beholds 
all this, and with a bursting heart and tearful eye he 
turns to fly from the scene of ruin. Alas ! whither shall 
he fly? he has no home; his fields are laid waste; his 
flocks and herds have already become the prey of stran¬ 
gers, while his family and friends are scattered abroad or 
fallen by the random bullet; he stands a lonely unpro¬ 
tected being on the surface of his native soil, his heart 
bursting with grief, and no kind friend, his equal in mis¬ 
fortune, to condole with him in his sorrows, nor any 
generous protector to alleviate his distress. 

The troops being dismissed to their tents, after their 
morning muster, every man was busily employed in some 
duty or other. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


63 


I now set about erecting a but for myself and wife, 
resolving, if possible, not to mix blankets with so many 
bedfellows again. This I was the more anxious to do, 
because at that time the whole of the men were affected 
with an eruption on their skin similar to the itch, and their 
clothing was in a very filthy state,* owing to its being 
seldom shifted, and always kept on during the night. 

With the assistance of a few willing hands, I finished 
the hut in the course of the day, so that it served for a 
temporary shelter, and prevented myself and wife from 
depriving the men of their very limited accommodation in 
the tent. When I stretched myself down at night, in 
my new habitation, my head rested against the one end 
while my feet touched the other, at which was the en¬ 
trance ; my wife’s apron being hung up as a substitute for 
a door, a couple of pins on each side served for lock and 
hinges; and feeble as that barrier was, none of the men 
entered when that was suspended, and we might have 
left it to its own keeping from morning till night without 
an article being abstracted: thieving, indeed, was un¬ 
known in the regiment; but, in fact, there was little of 
worth to steal amongst us. Our men, in general, were 
possessed of another praiseworthy disposition, they were 
obliging without being troublesome or intrusive; and any 
errors or crimes amongst them invariably originated from 
drunkenness, a vice of so long standing in all armies, that 


* There seems to be something peculiarly favourable in the Spanish 
soil towards the production of one of the insect plagues of Egypt. For 
T have seen linen, perfectly clean, laid down on the bank of a remote 
stream to bleach, and, when lifted, having become the residence of 
some very unwelcome visitors. 

G 2 



RETROSPECT OP 


64 

it lias been passed over, by the best commanders, with 
slight arbitrary punishments, when not attended with 
aggravating circumstances. 

no O 

The first duty I performed, after joining the regiment, 
was mounting the quarter guard; and one of the men 
belonging to it absented himself and returned drunk, 
noisy, and very troublesome, with his mighty boastings of 
what he had seen and suffered; reminding me of what 
' Ilomer savs of the Greeks : 

Eacli fearless hero dares a hundred foes, 

While the feast lasts, and while the goblet flows. 

It may be justifiable in a poor fellow to boast of his 
own merit, when he finds it entirely neglected by others, 
or hidden from the cheering ray of regimental patronage, 
that falls so fortunately upon some individuals, whose 
superficial show reflects more brilliantly the beam that 
animates their hopes and cherishes their growing ambi¬ 
tion. Yet, there is a limit to which a soldiers boasting 
should be confined, for when it exceeds that, it becomes 
offensive. I had only been a few days in the regiment, 
and had therefore no just cause to take any slighting 
aspersions thrown at me as really personal; but as the 
man was unfit for duty, it became mine to confine him; 
and having done this, I was almost overwhelmed with a 
torrent of abuse; for there was a mistaken idea enter¬ 
tained, that a soldier in confinement might commit an 
outrage on the person or character of another, and onlv 
be answerable for that for which he was committed. I 
was, much to my satisfaction, relieved from my unpleasant 
situation by the visiting officer for the day (Lieutenant 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


65 


D. Farquharson), who happened to be going his rounds, 
and ordered the prisoner to keep silence. This com¬ 
mand changed the course of the torrent from me to¬ 
wards that gentleman, on whom it burst with redoubled 
violence. 

I had not in the course of my ten years’ previous ser¬ 
vice witnessed a soldier drunk on guard, but it came 
under my observation on the first I mounted in the regi¬ 
ment ; yet none of the men seemed the least surprised at 
the crime, or astonished at the abusive language the pri¬ 
soner made use of; they even seemed to think such 
ebullitions of passion as the hereditary privilege of an old 
soldier, and of no uncommon occurrence among them. 

The presence of a formidable enemy, in front of our 
lines, tended to mitigate punishments, that under other 
circumstances might have been awarded, and allowed 
offenders to get off with very slight correctives, in order 
to prevent our ranks being thinned by avoidable casual¬ 
ties. The prisoner was released next day, and sentenced 
to undergo a few days’ drill. 

From what I had thus heard and seen, I considered 
that I had to be very cautious of incurring the displea¬ 
sure of an old soldier,—a false idea, which made me act 
too often in a manner that on a retrospective view I con¬ 
sider injudicious. I had good officers, however, and if I 
erred in judgment, it was not intentionally, neither was 
it laid to my charge as such, but passed over in silence, 
and I was left to my own self-contrition afterwards, in¬ 
deed, I am far from justifying tyranny in any class of 
society whatsoever; but I cannot help thinking that a 
little despotism must be blended with the disposition of 

g 3 


68 


RETROSPECT OF 


the most liberal minded man who has to command others, 
whether he be a general or a lance-corporal ; for the more 
concessions that are made to some, the more dissatisfac¬ 
tion will be the result, and in the end will lead to the 
degradation of him who meanly weakens his authority by 
his want of firmness in maintaining it. 

On the 6th of October we advanced towards the heights 
of Urdach, and descended a few paces on the brow of 
that part of the mountain which overlooks the valley of 
that name and the distant course of the Neville. A thick 
c-loud hovered beneath us, and hid the country from our 
view. The loud report of guns, in the valley, shook the 
hills and echoed throughout the dark woody ravines be¬ 
low, whilst the quick rounds of musketry prepared us to 
expect an order to descend to the scene of action. The 
division stood in columns of brigade, or in lines along the 
mountain paths, as the position could be taken up. 

We remained upwards of two hours enveloped in the 
misty clouds, every man full of anxiety to view the con¬ 
test below. At last our wishes were gratified; the cur¬ 
tain arose, and the interesting scene burst all at once on 
our view. A far discerning eye might see the skir¬ 
mishers of both armies approaching close to each other, 
each man with well-directed aim looking along the deadly 
tube that sent the intended messenger of death to the op¬ 
posing adversary. Vineyards, orchards, straggling bushy 
fences, and streamlets with steep banks intersected the 
country, and afforded occasional cover to both sides, as 
well as a rest to the marksman’s musket in taking a deli¬ 
berate aim. The ascent of the cloud, which had hovered 
beneath us and over the combatants, afforded them a 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


67 

view of our columns and lines ready to descend, a pros¬ 
pect no less discouraging to the enemy than animating to 
our friends ; the former retired towards the Neville, while 
our troops pursued, till night closed the contest, and gave 
a respite from toil to both victor and vanquished. 





08 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER VI. 

Employment in Camp.—Descend the Mountains.—Cross the Neville. 
—Battle.—Observations after Battle.—Bivouac.—Marauding.— 
Appearance of the Country.—Bad Weather. 

The distant action over, we returned to the heights above 
Mayo and occupied our old camp-ground for three succes¬ 
sive nights. On the 9th of October we again advanced. 
Major Cowell, at the head of the light-infantry companies 
of the brigade, drove back the enemy’s picquets and esta¬ 
blished our advances on the defiles of the mountains look¬ 
ing down towards France. 

Without pushing the victory farther, the division en¬ 
camped on the heights above Urdach. Here I erected a 
hut, larger than my former one, and more substantial. 
Having occupied that which I had left nearly four weeks, 
I considered, that if I were to occupy this the half of that 

0 

time, I should be satisfied in bestowing more labour on 
it, and making my accommodation more complete; but 
rain continued to fall for two days in succession, and 
placed us in a very unpleasant situation. I had cut 
a trench round the outside of my hut, so as to carry 
off the torrents which rushed against it from the decli¬ 
vities above, and my poor wife was no less busily em¬ 
ployed in securing the few articles within. When the 
weather cleared, I set about re-thatching mv new habita- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


69 


tion, but the first night after I had finished my work, a 
violent gale struck every tent in the camp, and swept my 
little hut completely off. I had thrown my blanket over 
it and fixed it down with cords and pegs, on purpose to 
secure the thatch; having thus secured the roof, or I 
may rather say my hut, for it was all roof and ends, we 
stretched ourselves down, and the roaring of the wind in 
a few minutes lulled us to sleep, for we felt confident of 
having made all secure. Our repose, however, was short; 
we were awakened by the feeble branches which com¬ 
posed the rafters falling on our heads, and on looking up, 
no roof sheltered us from the blast. The stars shone 
brightly between the flying clouds, and the busy hum of a 
thousand voices rose on the wind as the men strove to re¬ 
pitch the fallen tents. We started to secure the few loose 
articles around us; we looked for our blanket, but it was 
gone, with the thatch, and several minor articles that 
were no more to be seen. The men lay close under the 
fallen fluttering tents, whilst I and my trembling com¬ 
panion found shelter in the lee of a rock, until morning 
roused every soldier to arms. 

My wife, in the meantime, hastily collected a few of 
the scattered branches of the hut, and huddled them to¬ 
gether, so as to cover an umbrella, which served as a 
ceiling to the thatchless roof, until I should return from 
duty and construct a more substantial dwelling. 

Our loss, trifling as it may seem, was the more severely 
felt, as there was no opportunity of replacing it by any 
fair means of purchase. Our day’s provisions were among 
the articles missing, and this was far from being a com¬ 
fortable look out for the day, as I had to mount the 


70 


RETROSPECT OP 


advanced picquet that morning; however, we had a little 
money, and scarce as bread was it was to be had for a 
good price. 

The advanced picquet was more than two miles from 
the camp, and as I had not taken any provision with me 
for the day, my wife bought a small loaf and a little 
wine ; this last she. mulled and mixed with some of the 
bread, and was bringing to me; but in her too great 
anxiety to reach me soon, by short roads, she slipped on 
one of the steep banks and rolled down a considerable 
declivity. Fortunately she was not hurt, but heartily 
vexed at her own mishap, returned to the camp, made a 
fresh purchase, and again hastened to me. The tear was 
in her eye as she related the misfortunes of the day, but 
she returned to camp gratified at having provided me 
with an unexpected and comfortable refreshment. 

I speak not of these casualties as sufferings on my part, 
for there were many worse off than I; but I point them 
out as some of the privations to which the poor women 
following the army had to submit, and which many of 
them were ill able to endure, and received but little 
sympathy from their husbands while patiently bearing 
them. 

On my return to camp, I set about constructing a hut 
that should be proof against wind and rain. One of my 
officers (Lieutenant D. Farquharson) very kindly made 
an offer of any pecuniary assistance I might require, and 
gave me a blanket to replace that which was lost. The 
latter I accepted gratefully, it was more than money 
could purchase, the former I declined, as I was far from 
being in want; but the offer, which I am certain was 


A MILITARY LIFE. 71 

sincerely intended for my acceptance, impressed me with 
the most sincere regard for that officer. 

I now became a complete Robinson Crusoe in my daily 
labour, when regimental duties permitted; and much I 
owe in gratitude to the memory of those who then super¬ 
intended those duties, for the indulgent manner in which 
I was treated, and not being troubled with vexatious 
interruptions to draw me oft’ from my domestic avoca¬ 
tions. They are now no more; they have fallen on the 
battle-field of a foreign land. A few men willingly 
afforded me every assistance; their only recompense being 
a small drop of spirits, which my wife had carefully re¬ 
served from my daily allowance. The wood was at no 
great distance, and the face of the hills was covered with 
broad ferns, which served for thatch. 

I now laboured hard for three days, and every spare 
hour, when off duty, was dedicated to the rendering of 
my hut proof against the weather. My friend Fraser 
gave me the use of the intrenching tools, and I dug an 
ample space within, three feet deep, and a trench around 
the outside, four feet deep ; this was to carry off the 
water from the roof, and the latter I secured more sub¬ 
stantially than many of our Highland bothies are in the 
north of Scotland, or than the cabins in the remote dis¬ 
tricts of Ireland. We were enjoying the comfort of its 
nightly shelter, and I was adding something daily towards 
its stability for upwards of two weeks; at last I con¬ 
structed a fireplace under the roof, and one of the men 
had brought a bundle of sticks for fuel, and the fire was 
lighted for the first time. I was sitting on my knapsack 
taking a late dinner, quite at home, with the dish on my 









79 

/ - 1 


RETROSPECT OF 


knee, for I had no table, when the drum beat “ Orders .” 
I set down my dish (a wooden canteen, the one end of 
which was taken out) unfinished, attended the call, and 
with no small regret heard that the camp was to be 
struck, and every thing ready to be moved off that night 
(the 9th Nov. 1813). I cannot express how vexed I was 
to leave my little habitation, my sole property, which I 
held by military right; but I was bound to follow my 
feudal superior. I had reared it at the expense of a blis¬ 
ter on every finger, and I exulted as much over it, in 
secret, as the rich man in the Gospel did over his exten¬ 
sive possessions and his plentiful stores. On leaving the 
camp that night, many of the married people set fire to 
their huts, but I left mine with toe much regret to be¬ 
come its incendiary ; and my poor Mary shed tears as she 
looked back upon it, as a bower of happiness which she 
was leaving behind. 

The moon shone in the cloudless vault of heaven as we 
descended the narrow paths of the mountains; behind us 
were our camp-fires and blazing huts, while the ill-clothed 
and worse disciplined troops of Spain were hurrying up 
the mountain path to occupy the ground we had left. To 
our right appeared the enemy’s watch-fires, blazing brightly 
on the distant brow of one of the diverging ridges that 
jut out from the main body of the Pyrenees, their picquets 
little dreaming that we were worming our way through 
the intricate windings so near their posts, in order to 
rouse them to work in the morning. On our left, a deep 
woody ravine, with its roaring stream, skirted our path; 
before us, the narrow ridge jutted out between two of 
those ravines, in a peninsular form, until its extremity 


I 


A MILITARY LIFE. 7^ 

overlooked the valley where we had witnessed the con¬ 
test on the 6tli of October. The path led ns down by 
many a circuitous and steep descent to the vale of Urdacli, 
which we reached by daybreak. 

We were now approaehing the Neville, and all its 
woody margins were lined with light troops, our bat¬ 
talions forming in columns about two furlongs from the 
bank of the river: not a musket was yet fired; there 
stood the brave but unfortunate soldiers of France ; here 
stood a generous but unwelcome foe, ready to invade the 
sacred bounds of their loved country, and with this gener¬ 
ous foe stood the implacable Portuguese and the equally 
vengeful Spaniards. France beheld us, in her threatened 
position, with the haughty look of defiance, and the 
stream, as yet unpolluted by the feet of the invaders, 
gave to the woods and rocks its rushing sound. The 
earth trembled beneath the advancing tread of our co¬ 
lumns. The guns were already posted on all the com¬ 
manding eminences on the left of the river. The generals 
had given their orders regarding the attack about to be 
made, the movements likely to follow, and their aids-de- 
camp were flying from corps to corps with the preparatory 
directions; no voice was heard, save that of command, 
until the foot of the advanced skirmisher was dipped in 
the stream; the bullet arrests him in his advance, and, 
as if at the command of some necromancer, thick and 
obscuring clouds rise from bank to bank, from eminence 
to eminence, as the loud thunder of war bursts from ten 
thousand muskets. The river is passed, and the soldiers 
of France retire or fall before their stern invaders. We 
pass through a wood and come to the bottom of a steep 


ii 








RETROSPECT OF 


74 

hill (the heights of Ainhoe), the face of which presents 
long- ridges of formidable breastworks, behind which the 
enemy keeps up a heavy fire of musketry, and fears no 
danger in the security of his cover. On the summit, 
overlooking these works, is a battery which commands 
that part of the river within its range. The Uth regi¬ 
ment was now ordered to ascend and storm those breast¬ 
works, and never did a regiment perform a task so 
dangerous, so obstructed, and apparently impracticable, 
with better success or in better order; its line was pre¬ 
served without a break, not only in climbing the hill, but 
in springing over the breastworks, bayoneting those that 
waited its approach, even until it cleared the battery on 
the western summit, where, justly proud of its conquest, 
it made the hills echo to its loud huzzahs. 

Meantime our regiment advanced more to the right, 
where, on a gentle slope of the hill, stood the huts (the 
recent camp or quarters) of the enemy; some of those 
huts caught fire, and owing to the combustible material 
of which they were constructed, the whole were nearly 
enveloped in one blaze. 

The position which the enemy had occupied in the 
morning was now in our possession, and the sixth divi¬ 
sion crowned the heights of Ainhoe. 

While we had been thus engaged, that part of the 
enemy’s forces which had watched our movements above 
Urdach, on perceiving the site of our late encampment 
occupied by the Spaniards, concluded that we had retired 
to winter-quarters, advanced upon them, and, although 
far inferior in number, drove them back to the heights 
above Mayo, where a sharp contest ensued, which ended 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


75 

in tlie defeat of the Spaniards, who fled down the 
mountain to the village. Here our hospital orderlies, 
convalescents, and stragglers, dressed in the respective 
uniforms of their different corps, turned out in something 
like military order, and weak and inefficient as they were, 
their presence stopped the career of victory to the arms or 
France, and the conquerors reascended the heights with¬ 
out being pursued, proud of having routed and dispersed 
four times their number; but by this time the clouds had 
disappeared, and afforded those victors an opportunity ot 
seeing their own army defeated, and flying in their own 
native valleys, before those troops whom they considered 
as having retired to quarters. 

There are many shifts in the game of war, and those 
writers, who give the history to future ages, will trace 
the causes and effects of each movement, and point out 
what the principal mover has anticipated. When a defeat 
is the result, how easy it is to show the causes that led to 
it; errors upon errors arise from every movement; but 
should victory crown the fortunate general, every disposi¬ 
tion is laid dow r n and measured off with mathematical 
precision and infallible results; if he break through the 
centre of the opposing army, though at the hazard of 
exposing both flanks of his own, and success crown his 
efforts, it will be recorded as 1 a masterly manoeuvre. 
Should he attempt to turn the right, at the risk of his 
own centre and left, succeed in so doing, and gain the day, 
he w ill be marked dowrn as the Wellington or Napoleon of 
the age. But in pursuing any of those plans, should a 
reverse occur, all are ready to point out every error; how 
it might and ought to have been foreseen, and averted or 

11 2 





76 


RETROSPECT OF 


remedied; where advantages might have been taken, and 
where they were neglected. It is, therefore, not much to 
be wondered at, that a soldier thinks less about the points 
of attack than he does of the vigour with which they 
should be attacked, and of the leader’s abilities to push 
forward, so as to hold fortune fast when within his 
grasp. 

It may be questioned what would have been the result, 
had the enemy known what was passing on the banks of 
the Neville, and been able to pursue the panic-struck 
Spaniards past Mayo, or retrograded on the road leading 
through the pass to Urdach, and fallen on the rear of our 
army. Fortunately, he was not sufficiently strong to at¬ 
tempt the latter, and wanted confidence to pursue the 
other, so as to give any serious alarm; and, perhaps, no 
writer takes notice of this part of the action, so disgrace¬ 
ful to Spain, yet so honourable to France. The regi¬ 
ment’s loss this day did not exceed twenty-seven killed 
and wounded; among the latter were Captain Mungo 
MTherson and Lieutenant Kenneth M 4 DougalI. 

This was the first engagement I was in, and I con¬ 
sidered myself no longer a recruit. I had now smelled 
the enemy’s powder, as the old soldiers boastingly ex¬ 
claimed ; I had heard his bullets whistling past my ears, 
seen them dropping harmless at my feet, and burrowing in 
the ground. 

I had observed, during this contest, the men whom I 
knew to be the greatest boasters in the company, men 
who never ceased enlarging on the exploits they had ac¬ 
complished, the actions they had witnessed, or the hard¬ 
ships they had endured, when they had such a one as 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


77 

myself to listen to their stories; I observed some of those 
boasters very closely, and I could not help remarking, 
that the men who spoke less acted better. 

It is perhaps needless to observe, that it is scarcely in 
the power of an individual foot soldier to perform any 
enterprising feat in the field of action, unless he be on 
some detached duty in front, such as is frequently the 
case with the skirmishers. If he is with the battalion, 
he must keep in his ranks; it is on the united movement 
of the whole body that general success depends ; and he 
that rushes forward is equally blameable with him who 
lags behind, though certainly the former may do so with 
less chance of censure, and no dread of shame. A man 
may drop behind in the field, but this is a dreadful risk to 
his reputation, and even attended with immediate per¬ 
sonal danger, while within the range of shot and shells: 
and wo to the man that does it, whether through fatigue, 
sudden sickness, or fear; let him seek death, and wel¬ 
come it from the hand of a foe, rather than give room for 
any surmise respecting his courage; for when others are 
boasting of what they have seen, suffered, or performed, 
he must remain in silent mortification. If he chances to 
speak, some boaster cuts him short; and, even when he is 
not alluded to, he becomes so sensitively alive to these 
merited or unmerited insults, that he considers every 
word, sign, or gesture, pointed at him, and he is miserable 
among his comrades. 

I have seen it frequently remarked, in the periodicals 
of the time, that the loss in killed and wounded was 
greater than was actually acknowledged on our side : 

c5 t/ CD 

that we overrated the enemy’s loss, and underrated our 

n 3 


78 


RETROSPECT OF 


own ; but this is not the case. The loss of the enemy, of 
course, is a guess rather than a certainty, until we become 
possessed of their official returns; but that of our own is 
never underrated. Indeed, a soldier feels a greater pride 
in boasting of his wounds than in trying to conceal them ; 
mere scratches are often magnified into wounds, and stated 
as such in the returns. 

There formerly existed a fund from which a reward was 
given to those whose blood was drawn in the field. This 
originated, no doubt, through some patriotic motive of the 
founders; yet the consequences of such a premium were 
certainly not well considered. 

I never yet, among the many I have seen wounded, 
knew but one individual who kept his wound from being 
placed on the list; his name was Stewart. We were 
evacuating a redoubt on the heights of Toulouse, when a 
bullet struck him behind, pierced through his cartridge- 
box, cut his clothes, and hit him smartly on the breech. 
u I shall give,that to the rascal again,” he said, as he re¬ 
covered himself and picked up the bullet. “ I shall be 
ashamed,” he added, “ to let it be known that I Avas struck 
behind.” Had this bullet struck him on the breast or 
limbs, there would have been one more on our list of 
that day’s casualties. 

It is not in one’s power to give correct returns of the 
casualties on the night after an action; some are returned 
missing Avho have been killed; others returned killed 
Avho may have been severely wounded, and left appa¬ 
rently lifeless behind, yet may recover; they fall on the 
field where our feet neA'er again passes; as the reapers in 
harvest drive on and leave the sheaves for others to gather 


A MILITARY LIFE. 7^ 

up, so we advance and leave the fallen for others to 
raise. 

Although the action at passing the Neville may not 
he considered of great importance, yet it ought to he a 
day of proud remembrance to the 11th regiment, not oidy 
on account of the success with which its efforts were 
crowned in the view of all the corps composing the divi¬ 
sion, but owing to the exemplary manner in which each 
man conducted himself, no one stooping to snatch a paltry 
booty from a fallen foe, and thus occasion a break in the 
ranks. Indeed, the manner in which it conducted itself 
on that day, might have served as a lesson to every corps 
that witnessed its movements, in showing how far good 
discipline tends to secure victory. 

We bivouacked on the field until morning, and for¬ 
tunately for us the night was fair, though cold and 
frosty. 

This was the first night on which my wife and I had to 
lie down with no other covering than a blanket between 
us and the sky, but we had many worse nights than this 
afterwards, and worse fields before us; however, on look¬ 
ing around, we generally saw many worse oft* than our¬ 
selves ; and, doubtless, were we always to look into others’ 
misfortunes or sufferings, when we suffer ourselves, we 
would find some cause for self-congratulation amidst the 
most distressing hardships. 

As soon as the position was taken up by the troops for 
the night, the culinary operations commenced; and not a 
few of the lovers of enterprise stole off*, on purpose to 
cater some extra provisions for the mess, or search for 
other spoil, no less desirable because it was hazardous. 


80 


RETROSPECT OF 


Tliis manner of unwarrantably furnishing themselves 
by stealth, is justly termed marauding by our official 
authorities; if the act be attended by violence, it is called 
rapine; but, on purpose to divest it of either of these 
offensive appellations, the soldiers call it reconnoitring; 
thus softening it down to a more honourable undertaking, 
in the military phrase, so as to justify, in their own opi¬ 
nion, their nocturnal excursions for booty. 

Those who proceeded on these forbidden enterprises 
stole off clandestinely from the camp or quarters by 
night, or cunningly contrived to join some of the wood 
or watering parties sent out from the camp, and then, 
evading the vigilance of the officer in command, slipped 
off unobserved on their private adventure, to the houses 
in which none of the military were quartered. They 
were frequently, too, made very welcome at the houses 
in which troops were quartered: the presence of men 
of another corps visiting there, without any known pur¬ 
pose, save that of looking for wood or water, gave a 
scope to the possessors to help themselves to -what they 
could lay their hands upon, and throw the blame on the 
strangers. 

The provisions, thus unwarrantably procured, were bet¬ 
ter and more highly appreciated than those served out by 
the commissary, and more anxiously looked for; yet, 
although they had been worse than those with which we 
w'ere regularly supplied, there was something in the 
adventure which the men seemed very much to covet ; 
whether it was to glory in the risk which thev ran of 
being detected, and at the same time avoiding discovery, 
or that “ Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


81 


secret is pleasant,” therefore more to be prized than that 
which they daily received, may he doubtful; they cer¬ 
tainly, however, preferred the hazardous means of obtain¬ 
ing it. 

In the neighbourhood of our bivouac was a small ham¬ 
let or village, in which some of those stragglers, by care¬ 
lessness or accident, set one of the houses on fire. In an 
instant the flames became a beacon over the face of the 
country, while the screams of distress and the shouts of 
mirth were wafted by the night-breeze from the ill-fated 
place, giving a sad lesson to the unfortunate inhabitants 
that were not yet visited by our arms. 

Orders had been issued, previously to our entering 
France, to guard against any irregularities in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of our camps or cantonments, or of offering any 
violence to the inhabitants; and the commanding officers 
of corps were now again called upon, by the commander 
of the army, to enforce a strict compliance with these 
orders; and in order the more effectually to confine the 
men to their camp, the rolls of companies were called 
hourly both by day and by night. This was a very 
harassing system, but it tended not a little to prevent 
plundering. 

During the time we were encamped on the Pyrenees, 
overlooking France, the country appeared as an extensive 
plain seemingly blessed with eternal sunshine; whilst, 
wrapped in clouds, whole days passed off with us in driz¬ 
zly darkness, nor opened one gladdening chink through 
which we might view the charming scene. How anxiously 
we then wished to tread this sunny land of which we some¬ 
times only caught a casual glimpse, and like a promised 




82 


RETROSPECT OF 


paradise, mocked us only with a distant prospect. We 
had now obtained our ardent wish, though at the expense 
of leaving some little attachment behind; but we were 
far from finding the fields so pleasant or the skies so cloud¬ 
less as we had anticipated. No level plain as yet appeared 
in view; but hills and dales, broken roads, and rapid 
streams without bridges, and many a miry field, impeded 
our lagging march. 

With torn shoes and lacerated feet, we advanced, on the 
11th November, under a heavy fall of hail and snow, the 
first of winters stormy blasts which threatened to obstruct 
our progress. Night brought us to a wood which af¬ 
forded a little shelter and plenty of fuel for our fires, 
where, until morning, we stretched ourselves round the 
welcome blaze. 

On the 12th we continued our march, though very 
slowly, being delayed by frequent halts, occasioned by the 
obstacles thrown in the way of our advance by the enemy, 
who were making good their retreat to the Nive. 

The smaller streams were now swollen to rivers, and 
all the fields were completely swamped, yet we had to 
encamp, and fortunate were they who found shelter under 
the canvas. 

In the vicinity of the camp was an eminence thickly 
sprinkled with tall furze bushes, and under the inviting 
shade of these our married people found a tolerable shel¬ 
ter, by clearing round the bottom and inclining the tops 
inwardly, so as to form an arch, over which a blanket 
was spread, and thus formed a hut with little labour and 
no expense. 

It is not a little conducive to our health, as well as to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


83 


our comfort, to have pointed out to us the manner in 
which our domestic "wants may he supplied by a little 
labour; and when ourselves are the individuals benefited, 
we put our hands the more willingly to the work—work, 
which gives strength to our limbs and vigour to the body, 
banishes every lagging humour that may be gathering to 
clog the springs which keep the animal mechanism in 
motion, and at the same time banishes melancholy and 
discontent. 

After remaining three days in this place, wdiich we 
termed, u the wet camp,” the whole army were ordered 
into cantonments. 



84 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER VII. 

Corps composing the Sixth Division of the Army.—Cantonments.—• 
Hopes of Plenty not realized.—Trafficking with the Enemy.— 
Cross the Nive.—Battle.—Outrages.—Adjutant’s Clerk.—Return 
to Ustritz.—Advance towards Bayonne.—Battle.—Lord Welling¬ 
ton orders the wounded of the French to be conveyed to Bayonne. 

The sixth division of the army was commanded by Major- 
general Sir Henry Clinton, and was cantoned in the town 
and neighbourhood of Ustritz, on the left bank of the 
Nive. It was composed of three brigades,—the right, left, 
and centre. The first, usually termed the Highland bri¬ 
gade, was commanded by Major-general Sir Denis Pack, 
and consisted of the 42d (Royal Highlanders), the 79th 
(Cameron Highlanders), the 91st (Argyle Highlanders), 
and one company of the 60th (Royal Rifle Corps). The 
11th, 32d, 36th, and 61st regiments composed the left 
hrigade, under the command of Major-general Sir John 
Lambert. The centre brigade consisted of three regi¬ 
ments of Portuguese, under the command of Colonel 
Douglas. 

Having taken up our quarters, after a long and fa¬ 
tiguing campaign, the soldiers expected to be indulged 
in that ease, the enjoyment of which is as fondly courted 
by them as by the peaceful shepherd; but our generals, 
anticipating the fatal consequences resulting to armies by 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


85 


a sudden relaxation from field duties to sheltered idleness, 
found means to avert tlie danger by keeping us constantly 
employed by day, always ready by nigbt, and at our alarm 
posts every morning before daybreak. We bad little 
cbance, however, of becoming enervated by indulging 
ourselves in luxuries to which we had been long stran¬ 
gers, as tbe inhabitants bad retired on our approach and 
left nothing behind worth taking. We bad therefore to 
depend upon our daily allowance of provisions, which was 
limited to one pound of sliip-biscuit, one pound of beef, 
and one-third of a pint of spirits. We received occasion¬ 
ally a little rice ; but this was a gratuity to which we had 
no just claim, consequently not regularly issued. Had 
these articles been good, the quantity might have been suf¬ 
ficient, but tbe biscuit was frequently crushed to crumbs 
or mouldered to dust, and tbe beef would not have been 
allowed a stall in tbe poorest market of Great Britain. 
The spirits were generally good, and when mixed with a 
little toasted biscuit, proved an exhilarating breakfast. 

We were frequently blaming the commissariat for tbe 
bad quality of our provisions ; but if we bad taken into 
consideration tbe innumerable difficulties with which it 
had to contend in procuring them, tbe obstacles that were 
to be surmounted in forwarding them to their respective 
depots, and then tbe thousand impositions * practised on 


* Parties were frequently proceeding from one place to another on 
various duties, and at the close of the day's march they received the 
following day’s rations, on applying at the commissary store, and pro¬ 
ducing a check from that where the last issue was made. These were 
frequently forged in duplicate, the provisions drawn on the real check 
at night, and another of the sai%e party, next morning, drew on the 
forged duplicate, when the multiplicity of business and the pressing 


I 





86 


RETROSPECT OF 


the commissariat by small parties and detachments, it was 
really astonishing how it existed; and perhaps, on the 
whole, no army similarly situated w r as ever so well sup¬ 
plied as we then were. 

At that time salt was a most desirable article, much in 
request, and not to be got at any price where w r e were can¬ 
toned. This scarcity was owing to the inhabitants having 
carried off or secreted every culinary article, leaving little 
behind but bare fields and empty houses. At the same 
time our advance into France excited hopes of obtaining 
plenty of every thing of which we were in w r ant. When 
we were encamped on the mountains, and looking down 
through some opening of the clouds to this land of pro¬ 
mise, it was pointed out as the abundant repository from 
which all our wants were to be supplied, and w r as jocosely 
called “ The place of all sorts.” These anticipations, to¬ 
gether with the certainty of approaching nearer the coast, 
made us less provident than under less flattering anticipa¬ 
tions we would have been, and the last grain of salt had 
disappeared, even from the table of our colonel, before a 
party was dispatched to St. Jean de Luz in order to pur- 

call for dispatch allowed no time to detect these frauds. Thus every 
day some cunning soldiers contrived to have two rations. These im¬ 
positions, viewed in the abstract, were no doubt criminal, but under 
the circumstances in some degree pardonable ; they could not be 
committed by any other than small parties on the march to or from 
their respective head-quarters, and I never heard of any being de¬ 
tected. The men were marching without a farthing in their posses¬ 
sion to purchase a mouthful of bread, even if it could have been got 
for money ; and is there any stout healthy man but will think the 
whole day’s allowance too little for two meals, on a march of twenty 
miles or more ? And every soldier knows that England would de¬ 
nounce the pusillanimous commissary through whose means one of her 
soldiers would perish for want of a sufficient supply. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


87 


chase a supply. The roads were at that time like the 
. miry bottoms of neglected trenches, into which stones 
had been cast to afford a foot passenger the means of 
stepping over ; and notwithstanding the utmost anxiety 
of the party to proceed, the sun had set before it reached 
St. Pie. This was a circuitous route, but the muleteers 
by whom it was accompanied were its guides, and they 
were of opinion that the more direct road was impassable, 
or partly in possession of the enemy. The regiment, 
however, had the satisfaction of seeing the party return 
on the third day after its departure, with a sufficient sup¬ 
ply of the desired article. Thus one of our pressing 
wants was removed, but several other cravings remained 
to exercise the ingenuity of the necessitous in finding 
means to gratify them. 

It may appear incredible to some, that notwithstand¬ 
ing the express inhibition of the Articles of War then 
in force, a number of soldiers attempted to traffic with 
the enemy's sentries. This was not a little interrupted on 
our taking up our cantonments at Ustritz, in consequence 
of the river, which formed the line of separation, being 
much swollen by the late rains; and the French sentries, 
chiefly young conscripts, being unacquainted with the 
Portuguese language, which was generally understood by 
the old campaigners of both armies. In hazarding an 
enterprise of this kind, one of our men was detected in 
attempting to cross the river, and was supposed to be 
about to desert, brought back, tried by a general court- 
martial, and sentenced to death; and this sentence would 
have been carried into effect, had not the testimony of the 
surgeon gone to prove that the man was subject to fits of 

i 2 




83 


RETROSPECT OF 


mental aberration, in consequence of a wound received in 
action. Indeed the attempt seemed more like that of one 
in a fit of inebriety than of a sober person, as the river 
was not fordable, and he was encumbered with several 
canteens strapped over his shoulders, a plain indication of 
the object of his pursuit. 

On the night of the 8th of December our division was 
under arms in columns of brigades until nearly daybreak, 
the artificers being employed in placing a bridge of pon¬ 
toons over the river, below the town. As soon as this 
w r as finished the troops began to pass along-, while the 
drummers, left behind, beat the reveille at the usual 
places. This circumstance induced the enemy to con¬ 
clude that we still occupied our quarters, although we 
were forming our columns silently in their neighbour¬ 
hood, concealed amidst a dense mist. As soon as objects 
were discernible, a signal gun announced our time of 
advance. A wooden bridge still remained over the river 
at Ustritz, but so far broken down by the enemy as to 
be impassable; the discharge of this gun, however, so 
alarmed the French conscript sentries posted at the end 
of the bridge, on the right bank, that they retired in great 
haste towards the picquet to which they belonged, and 
our artificers lost no time in making the necessary repairs 
for the passage of the troops and stores. 

The greater part of this day’s action consisted in skir¬ 
mishing, in which the light-infantry companies sustained 
the principal brunt. Towards the close of the day, the 
enemy retired upon a farm-house situated on a command¬ 
ing eminence, having some of the adjoining fields enclosed 
by low dry-stone walls and quickset hedges, behind which 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


89 


they appeared in considerable force, supported by some 
artillery. In dislodging these troops, Captain George 
Stewart and Lieutenant James Stewart, both of the light 
company, were killed on the spot, and Lieutenant Brander 
w r as severely wounded. Connected by kindred ties, the 
two former, whose loss we had to deplore, associated toge¬ 
ther, while in life, as brothers: as their pursuits were the 
same, so -were the distinguished features in their charac¬ 
ters. In the performance of their duty, and in every 
manly virtue, they seemed to be actuated by the same 
spirit. Complaisant and condescending, without mean¬ 
ness ; strict, without severity; and brave, without pre¬ 
sumptuous daring; one tent covered (hem in camp, and 
one table witnessed their little festivities in quarters; in 
the field they fought together, and one grave, consecrated 
by their blood, received their last remains; the peal of 
battle rung over their grave, and the funeral volleys con¬ 
veyed to their enemies the messengers of death, and were 
those of vengeance. Here the two friends lie interred; 
a soldier s blanket is their shroud; no sculptured stone 
marks the spot or records their name, but it is impressed 
on our remembrance, from which death only can efface it. 

I regret to say, that an outrage, revolting to the feelings 
of a generous soldier, was said to have been committed on 
the person of one of the family who had the misfortune to 
be beleaguered in the farm-house round which the contest 
raged. Indeed, violence was so seldom heard of, that the 
man who acted upon that principle, beyond the authorised 
custom of war, was distrusted by those who were led in 
to be participators, and detested by the better disposed, 
who refused to become associates in his guilt. 

i 3 






90 


RETROSPECT OP 


Rapine or pillage, though generally considered as a con¬ 
comitant of war, is seldom allowed to he in accordance 
with the character or pursuit of a British soldier. It is 
equally as much in opposition to the high-mindedness of 
the brave as it is in accordance with the meanness of the 
avaricious ruffian; and although circumstances of neces¬ 
sity may palliate at times the offence of soldiers helping 
themselves to provisions in an enemy’s country, yet neither 
time nor circumstances can justify wanton cruelty, or the 
indulgence of desires which humanity forbids, on the ter¬ 
rified females, who, neglectful of their own safety, cling 
to the protecting arms of their parents, and hazard their 
lives in the approaching storm of battle, rather than aban¬ 
don them. 

The individual, whose violence has drawn forth these 
remarks, was made prisoner by the enemy about three 
months after this occurrence, as he was on a marauding 
excursion in the neighbourhood of Pau; he was returned 
as a deserter, and on his afterwards joining the regiment 
at Auch, he received the punishment for desertion which 
he so richly deserved for rape. 

Our casualties in this day’s action were only eleven 
men, besides the officers already named. We bivouacked 
as usual during the night after an engagement, and a 
thousand fires soon lighted the field of our labour and our 
repose. 

In the neighbourhood of our bivouac were a few strag¬ 
gling houses, in which some staff officers took up their 
quarters, and our guard was posted under the leafless 
branches of a chestnut tree, in the close vicinity. The 
sergeant of our guard being a married man, considered 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


91 


himself very fortunate in having secured a small pig-sty 
near his post, for his wife’s accommodation, and the poor 
woman felt happy in the possession, small as it was; for 
its roof was a shelter from the wintry blasts, and its con¬ 
tiguity to the guard left no room to fear danger, w r ere she 
permitted to keep possession ; however, this w as not to be 
the case. Our adjutant’s clerk, who had never occasion to 
approach the field in time of danger, had taken up his 
quarters in one of the adjoining houses, after the action 
ceased, hut being dispossessed by some superiors, and 
every other place preoccupied by soldiers who would not 
suffer his intrusion, he meanly invaded the miserable 
shelter selected for the poor woman. In vain she remon¬ 
strated with him, in vain she requested him with tears to 
allow her the sole possession of a place so unfit for his 
accommodation, and which she had laboured hard to clean 
out for her own; but to no purpose, she might remain if 
she pleased, but he should not depart. It is doubtful 
whether we had a w T oman in the regiment so regardless of 
her character as to have taken a night’s shelter in the 
absence of her husband, otherwise than with the crow r d, 
where no advantage could be taken of her situation or 
weakness : but every man acted towards a modest woman 
with that kindness w r hich he would towards a sister. 
Indeed, we had women in the regiment, that if they had 
been in possession, would have kept him out, and put 
him at defiance to enter, but this one was not possessed 
of that masculine boldness; she, therefore, bundled up 
her few r articles, and hastening across the road, the only 
distance by which she had been separated from her hus¬ 
band, threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. 



92 


RETROSPECT OF 


Three months only had elapsed since this couple joined 
the regiment. She was a comely, modest, interesting 
young woman, and always unassumingly but cleanly and 
decently dressed. But allowing that she had had but 
few or no accomplishments or amiable qualifications to 
recommend her to sympathy, it is but natural to think 
that whatever distressed her affected the husband. They 
had as yet seen or experienced but little of the petulant 
intrusions or consequential presumptuous ill-manners to 
which soldiers and their wives are sometimes obliged to 
submit without remonstrance. 44 What is the matter with 
you, dear?” the sergeant asked, somewhat astonished at 
her unexpected appearance ; for by the kindly appellation 
of my dear he usually addressed his wife. 44 Oh!” she 
exclaimed, 44 I’ve been turned out o’ yon bit placey that 
I was in, an' I’m come to stop wi’ you a night.” 44 Who 
turned you out?” the sergeant hastily inquired. 44 Oh, 
say naething about it, I’ll be as well here wi’ you as I 
would ha’e been yonder by mysel’; let us mak’ no dis¬ 
agreement about the matter, wi’ them that we canna 
shake oursel’s free o’; let the proud little creature keep it 
to himsel’ in quietness; we are strangers as yet, so dinna 
Jet angry words be heard.” 44 But what creature turned 
you out? surely it was not a man.” 44 Ay, he thinks 
himsel’ aneshe whispered, 44 It was G—t.” 44 Is it 

possible,” said the sergeant, 44 that a married man can be 
possessed of so little feeling as turn you out to the incle¬ 
mency of the night, and neither his wife nor child accom¬ 
panying him to plead for the accommodation? But let 
him keep it,” he continued, as he spread his blanket over 
her shoulders, 44 my blanket can cover us both; his favour 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


93 


I ask not, and kis malice I put at defiance. The man 
who is capable of acting so ungenerously to a woman can 
never prosper or be deserving of the good opinion of a 
soldier, and I should be sorry to court or even accept the 
kindness or friendship of such a man.” “ I am happier 
with you,” she replied, “ than if I had lain all night in 
yon hole; hut, dear, O dear, how hard it rains; the fire 
will he drown’d out, an we’ll be starved to death before 
mornin’.” “ Poor body!” the sergeant ejaculated, as he 
wrapped the blanket round her shoulders, “ I’ll soon 
make a good fire; sit you under that branch of the tree, 
the reek will annoy you less, and the drops will not fall 
so thick nor so heavy.” “ I’m well enough,” she returned, 
“ and I care na’ for the reek or the rain when wi you ; 
but dinna min’ the fire till this heavy dag’s o’er; ye’ll get 
yoursel’ a’ wet.” The sergeant threw a faggot of wood on 
the fire, and in a short time nothing was heard but the 
rattling of rain and hailstones, the braying of mules, and 
the tinkling of their bells. 

This was a severe night, the rain poured down in tor¬ 
rents until midnight, when it was succeeded by snow, 
which covered the face of the country before daybreak. 

The sudden change of the weather occasioned the sixth 
division being ordered back to reoccupy its former quar¬ 
ters, whilst the second, under the command of Sir Roiv- 
land Ilill (now Lord Hill), took up cantonments from 
Villafranque, to which village we had advanced, to the 
eastward, as far as Yieux Moguere, on the right of the 
main road from St. Jean Pied-cle-Port to Bayonne, with 
its rear resting on the right bank of the Nive. 

We were not a little disappointed, on our return to 


94 


RETROSPECT OF 


Ustritz, to find that the owners had taken possession of 
our quarters, during our two days’ absence, and con¬ 
sidered us rather unwelcome guests. This was not to be 
wondered at, for they had, very likely, been suffering 
great privations from the time we had taken possession, 
and, doubtless, they found things in a very different state 
from that in which they had left them. 

We were now obliged to rest satisfied with less accom- 
modation than we had had, and this was confined to the 
worst, the meanest, and filthiest places, which we had to 
put in order for ourselves. Instead of a small parlour 
which we had occupied, with a few more, we were glad 
to get as much room as to spread a blanket upon the floor 
under a stair. Our time of occupation, however, was but 
short; the calm produced by the change of the weather 
was only that which precedes the tempest. Marshal 
Soult, possessed of every advantage for the movement of 
his troops, having Bayonne with its navigable communica¬ 
tions upon the Adour open in his rear, availed himself of 
the interruption which was given by the state of the 
roads to our advance, to draw off the greater part of his 
army, during the night of the 9th, to his right. This was 
easily accomplished, by making it retire on the main road 
leading from Pied-de-Port to Bayonne, thence advancing 
on that leading to St. Jean de Luz. These roads were 
always good, and the connecting link or key, namely, 
Bayonne, solely in his possession, while all the cross roads 
by which our troops had to move from flank to flank 
were almost impassable, and crossed by deep torrents, 
the bridges over which had been damaged or destroyed. 

During the 10th and lltli, the marshal pressed with 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


95 


all his force against the left of our army, which was 
posted on both sides of the Jean do Luz road, but, being 
repeatedly repulsed, he retrograded on the night of the 
12th and pushed towards his left, where the contest had 
been broken off on the evening of the 9th. By this 
movement, his force on the road to Pied-de-Port is said 
to have amounted to thirty thousand; to oppose which 
General Hill had not more than thirteen thousand, in¬ 
cluding our division, cantoned, as I have already observed, 
on the left bank of the Nive, in his rear; and Sir L. Cole’s 
and a brigade of the third division from the left, where 
they had been engaged or in movement the two preceding- 
days. 

Soult had anticipated, that by his pressing attack on our 
left, for two days successively, he should have obliged Lord 
Wellington to withdraw the principal part of his force 
from the right, and so weaken that flank as to enable him 
to overpower it ; but this was foreseen by our great com¬ 
mander, and we w T ere on the march, early on the morning 
of the 13th, towards the Adour. The weather had been 
rather favourable during the two preceding days; a hard 
frost bound up the miry face of the country, and enabled 
us to advance with considerable speed during the morning, 
but as the day advanced, we were impeded by the cloggy 
and adhesive soil of the fields, and the sun had gained the 
, meridian before we cleared the valley westward of Villa- 
franque, and ascended the partially wooded heights that 
afford a distant view of Bayonne and the Adour to the 
north, of Jean de Luz and the Bay of Biscay to the west, 
of the windings of the Nive, of the white villages and 
hamlets on its green banks, and of the snow-covered 








96 


RETROSPECT OF 


Pyrenees beyond, that seemed to rise in a perpendicular 
ridge to the clouds, bounding the view in our rear. On our 
right, the face of the country presented a broken, moorland, 
hilly aspect, and was apparently in the progress of being 
reclaimed and feued out for cottages; several were half 
finished, and the material for others laid down. The mam 
road from Bayonne to Pied-de-Port runs along the west 
side or end of a hill bounding the view to the east. 

Durinp' the time of our advance, the attack had been 
made by the enemy; he had so far established himself on 
the main road as to have Villafranque upon his right; 
this village is situated on a height, and is about two miles 
from the road, with a marshy valley between them. 

On the sixth divisions attaining the heights overlooking 
Bayonne, its movements were immediately directed to its 
right, so as to support more effectually the left of the 
second; and Sir Denis Pack ordered the 42d to ad¬ 
vance to the main road, by which a brigade of the enemy 
was retiring. Our colonel was as anxious to execute the 
order as the men were proud to have been selected to 
perform it, but he led us into such a brake of furze, thorns, 
and brambles, that it would have been impossible to have 
taken our bare thighed regiment through its impenetrable 
meshes. The general, observing our painful but ineffec¬ 
tual struggling, withdrew us from that spot, and pointed 
to another place by which we should have advanced, and 
which would have been practicable; but by this time 
the enemy had passed our mark, and were descending to¬ 
wards the valley of the Aclour, where, joined by another 
brigade, they made a determined stand against the 92d 
(Highlanders), that were coming round on the other flank. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


97 


The ground at that place was intersected with deep drains, 
loose stone walls, and thorn bushes. Here a contest en¬ 
sued, which cannot be described with justice to both 
parties; perhaps the like seldom or never occurred during 
the war. The enemy, although on their retreat, were 
within a short distance of their own fortified position of 
Bayonne, and in view of their own army and people, 
from whom praise or censure was to be expected; they 
were also in the animating discharge of an urgent duty, 
namely, that of opposing the invaders of their beloved 
country. Yet, notwithstanding all these stimulants, the 
gallant 92d bore down every opposition. The guns ceased 
to play upon this spot, so closely were both parties inter¬ 
mixed. Foe to foe grasped each other in mutual anger, 
and rolled together in the ditch. Muskets were broken, 
bayonets bent, and stones were thrown with deadly 
vengeance. Victory crowned our native band, but it 
was dearly bought. Fourteen officers, eight sergeants, 
and one hundred and sixty-three rank and file lay killed 
and wounded on the spot, and thrice that number of the 
enemy were scattered in heaps around them. 

The sun sunk over the blue waves of the Bay of Bis¬ 
cay, and darkness rested on the fields, before the fire of 
the skirmishers ceased. Both armies, wearied of the 
struggle, rested on the ground during the night, the 
picquets occupying the dilapidated remains of the houses 
in front: to these the wounded men crawled for shelter, 
or were carried thither, if near the spot; and it reflects a 
national credit on the men on duty, that the hand of 
kindness was equally extended towards the foe as to the 
friend. Dry litter was obtained for their beds, every 




98 


RETROSPECT OF 


attention that one soldier could offer to another was 
bestowed, and in the morning, by order of Lord Wel¬ 
lington, the whole of the wounded of the enemy were 
carried into their own lines; and it certainly was gratify¬ 
ing to see those brave though disabled soldiers embracing 
those who had entertained them during the night, and 
kindly shaking the hand that perhaps inflicted the wound. 
Poor fellows! many of them were young men, this perhaps 
their first appearance in arms to defend, in the true spirit 
of patriotism, the home of their fathers. Yes, perhaps 
even animated with a desire to reestablish the fallen for¬ 
tunes of the great Napoleon, for still this name was dear 
to Frenchmen, and probably will be for ages to come. 

The unfortunate men who had fallen in remote places 
were suffered to remain under the inclement sky, until 
morning brought them relief, or death ended their suffer¬ 
ings. The rain poured down heavily during the night, 
and those who had crawled for shelter to the dry ditches 
along the roads or fields, breathed their last beneath the 

gathering floods. 

r> 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


99 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Cantonments. — General Employment. — Markets. — Delinquents 
speedily punished.—High Prices of Bread, Sugar, Soap, &c.— 
Break up Cantonments and march to Orthez.—Battle of Orthez. 

—Loss of the Regiment in Battle, and Observations_Advance 

after the Enemy_Pillaging. 

The weather again put a stop to hostilities, and arrange¬ 
ments were made, without further delay, for the troops 
taking up winter-quarters. That part of the country 
assigned for our division, extended from Villafranque (the 
head-quarters of General Clinton) to the heights over¬ 
looking Bayonne, a district already overrun by both 
armies and stripped of every article of provision. The 
houses allotted for our accommodation were in a very 
dilapidated state, and the men were as much crowded in 
them as on board of transports. The flooring of the lofts 
was so openly laid, that articles heavier than dust were 
frequently falling, either accidentally or designedly, for 
mischief or sport, on the head of some grumbling wight 
below. It was not a little owing to the generous dispo¬ 
sition of our officers, confining themselves to less room 
than they might have done, if otherwise disposed, that 
our married people had generally an apartment assigned 
for themselves. In short, every class was so accustomed 
to the habits and usages of the campaign, that amidst 

x 2 


:> » 

> > > 

' > > 






100 


RETROSPECT OF 


every privation, each man made himself happy or appa¬ 
rently so. 

At all the houses which we occupied, the fires were lit 
without the walls; parties were paraded by daybreak 
for the purpose of bringing wood for fuel, water for cook¬ 
ing, and also to go for provisions. The latter were issued 
at the commissary store; the wood and the water taken 
where it could be found. 

Cooking was the most unpleasant duty which the men 
had to perform; green wood being the only fuel, it cast 
a cloud of smoke around the place, and while the rain 
threatened to extinguish the fire, the wind scattered the 
embers about, and almost prevented the most attentively 
persevering cook from finishing his task. It was not sel¬ 
dom that the meat, which was the poorest of the poor, was 
brought in little better than scalded, and this occasioned 
a grumble, but it was only a momentary one, some plea¬ 
sant remark made all contented, and the luckless cook 
happy at having his task over. 

Our mode of cooking was very simple, and the soup 
would have puzzled a Kitchener or Ude to give it a 
name; not a single blade of vegetable was to be had to 
put into it, our supply of rice was curtailed, and the only 
thickening for it was the crumbs and dust of the ship- 
biscuit. The lid of the camp-kettle served for a carvino-- 
dish, the cook’s fingers supplied the place of a fork, and 
no symptom of delicacy or disgust appeared by any man’s 
palate refusing or loathing the scanty morsel from those 
unclean finders. ^N*o waste was to be observed; fortu¬ 
nately no half-starved dog stared us in the face imploring 
a bone, for it was a very hard one that was cast away 


101 


A MILITARY LIFE. 

without being completely denuded of meat, and its soft 
end gnawed sweetly. The commissariat butchers found 
ready purchasers for bullock’s blood and offals, of which 
very good wholesome messes were made. 

The nights passed off pleasantly in singing songs, and 
telling tales, until sleep overpowered all, and our dreams 
were of better times on our native shores. Every man 
lay down fully accoutred, as when on the compaign, and 
turned out before the beating of the reveille in the morn- 
ing, each company at its alarm posts; and at that early 
hour the guards, picquets, working parties, &c. marched 
off to their respective posts of duty. Breastworks and 
batteries were constructed along the face of the heights 
looking towards Bayonne; and in the raising of these 
defences, we were employed during the time we remained 
in cantonments (from the 14th December to the 21st 
February following). During this time, the roads that 
intersected the country, between the two main ones so 
frequently mentioned, as leading to Bayonne, were almost 
impassable, being deeply covered with mire from side to 
side, while seldom a day passed over without rain, sleet, 
or snow. 

A regular market was established at Villafranque, and 
although articles were extravagantly dear, yet they were 
to be got, which was considered no small advantage to 
those who had the money; and the utmost vigilance was 
used to protect the inhabitants, who were bringing sup¬ 
plies, from meeting with any interruption or insult from 
stragglers of the army. 

A provost-marshal was stationed here, for the more 
effectually preventing offences and speedily punishing 

k 3 


102 


RETROSPECT OF 


\ 


tliose who attempted to trespass. This functionary, though 
requisite for repressing delinquencies, is far from being in 
high repute in the army; his duty is the most unpleasant 
in the service, and perhaps in consequence of this, the 
one who holds it is generally rewarded, after the comple¬ 
tion of his service as a provost, with the half-pay of a 
subaltern officer. During the time he is provost, he 
superintends the punishment of those sentenced by gene¬ 
ral courts-martial; he can also order any soldier or fol¬ 
lower of the army punishment for marauding or other 
petty trespasses, when the delinquent is absent from the 
regiment to which he belongs; he can also punish a sol¬ 
dier for being absent from his regiment without leave, if 
found in any suspicious manner straggling. The punish¬ 
ment was inflicted on the spot, by the provost’s drummer, 
upon the offender’s breech. These punishments were 
pretty frequent, but as they were always inflicted on 
absentees, the corps to which the delinquent belonged 
was seldom apprised of the circumstance. 

The immediate punishment of criminals, after being 
detected in trespassing on the confiding inhabitants of an 
invaded country, is certainly attended with better effect, 
in order to soothe the injured and to prevent crime, than 
the usual slow deliberations of courts-martial, notwith¬ 
standing that these are also considered quick in their 
proceedings. When the offended person sees, while the 
passion yet rages in his breast, the prompt manner in 
which the offenders are arraigned for trespassing on his 
person or property, and witnesses the ignominious punish¬ 
ment inflicted on those whom he so justly considers 
his enemies, it soothes his anger and reconciles him to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


103 


the invaders, by convincing him that he is still to a cer¬ 
tain extent protected. 

We were paying, at this time, two shillings and six¬ 
pence for a loaf of bread between two and three pounds 
weight, termed a Pampalonici; the same price was 
asked for a pound of brown sugar; a pound of soap was 
the same price; and an English pint of milk was ten- 
pence, but that could rarely be obtained. Coffee and tea 
were scarce articles, and beyond the reach of a soldier’s 
purse. We toasted the biscuit to serve as a substitute 
for coffee, and when a little wheat could be obtained it 
was preferred; we also considered wheat a very good 
mess, when boiled in water and left a few minutes to cool 
and swell. 

I mention these circumstances merely that others may 
make the same or similar shifts, and be as well satisfied 
as we then were, when the time comes that they may be 
put to such trial, and no old campaigner with them to 
advise or direct. A soldier ought to feel a pride in the 
difficulties and privations that may come in his way, so 
that he may boast, if he loves boasting, of having over¬ 
come them. Wealth he may despise, since he cannot 
attain it, or if he attain, he may afterwards lose it; he 
may boast, however, of his perils, his privations, and of 
his poverty, and of these no one will defraud him; let 
him therefore never despair under misfortunes, but 'gt%je- < t 
ing in them, live in the anticipation of better times. 

On the 21st of February the cantonments were broken 
up, and the campaign of 1814 commenced. Our march 
was directed by Hesperran, St. Palais, and Montford, on 
the Gave de Oleron. 


] 04 


RETROSPECT OF 


On the afternoon of the 25th we were ordered to halt, 
just as we were about to ford the Gave, below a large 
farm-house, where the river is fordable, but was said to 
have been set with spikes, so as to form an obstruction to 
our passage. Perhaps there was no truth in this report ; 
however, we suddenly retrograded and passed on pon¬ 
toons, not far from a small village, in which we were 
quartered for the night. On the following day we ap¬ 
proached the neighbourhood of Orthez, where we pitched 
camp on the south side of the gently rising heights, the 
north side of which forms the left bank of the Pau and 
overlooks the handsome town beyond. An explosion, 
occasioned by the blowing up of a bridge, excited the 
curiosity of a few to steal up the height, notwithstanding 
that we had been charged against discovering ourselves to 
the enemy ; others followed the example, and as no mea¬ 
sures were taken or perhaps were necessary to prevent it, 
lie men indulged themselves with a view of Orthez, the 
eautiful valley, with the Pau stealing softly along its 
)uth side, while the long range of mountain heights 
ounding it on the north rose abruptly over the road 
ading from Bayonne and Peyrehorade. Many a man 
ized on that mountain range, who little thought that 
■ frfore tomorrow’s sun should go down, he would be 
retched upon it a lifeless corpse. But these gloomy 
rebodings seldom intrude themselves on a soldier s mind : 
full of the anticipations of battle and victory, each man 
retired to his tent to enjoy a night’s repose. 

Such had been the general good and orderly conduct of 
the troops, during the few weeks we had been cantoned, 
that the inhabitants began to entertain a better feeling 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


105 


towards us than that with which they had been at first 
impressed on our invading their territory, and it was not 
a little satisfactory to find them keeping their houses and 
offering articles, for which they found amongst us ready 
purchasers and high prices; but this was necessary, in 
order to cover the frauds to which they were exposed, 
and which it was impossible to detect. It is not until 
the man who has committed the fraud is past the bounds 
of detection or prosecution, that he feels himself at liberty 
to boast of those unjustifiable transactions, and give them 
publicity among his companions. 

Early on the morning of Sunday the 27th, we marched 
down the left bank of the Pau, passed on a pontoon bridge, 
and directed our course upon the main road up the valley 
towards Orthez. Two divisions of the army were already 
on the road before us. The heights on our left appeared 
to be in the possession of the enemy, and as our move¬ 
ments were plainly to attack his centre or his left, which 
was posted in and above the town, corresponding move¬ 
ments became necessary on his part, and his ranks were 
seen advancing along the ridge parallel with ours. As 
the mountain approaches that place where the road to 
St. Severe passes over it from Orthez, there is a down¬ 
ward bend of about a mile; it rises, how r ever, to a consider¬ 
able height on the east side of that road, and commands 
the town and its approaches. On our coming near this 
bending, our brigade was ordered to move to its left; 
several enclosures were in our way, but this was no time 
to respect them, as the enemy w T as welcoming us with 
round shot and shell. The gardens and nurseries were 
trodden down in an instant, and a forest of bayonets glit- 


106 


RETROSPECT OF 


tered round a small farm-house that overlooked a wooded 
ravine on the north side. 

The light companies, which had preceded the brigade, 
were keeping up a sharp fire upon the enemy’s skir¬ 
mishers, and our grenadier company was ordered to take 
post along the bank overlooking the ravine, and com¬ 
manding a narrow road below. No place seemed less 
practicable for cavalry to act, but the enemy were de¬ 
termined to make every effort to reestablish their lines 
on the heights from which they had been driven by the 
light troops, and some of their squadrons were seen ap¬ 
proaching to drive back our advance, which by this time 
was reinforced by the grenadiers; but the more effectu¬ 
ally to repel an attack, two additional companies were 
dispatched to reinforce those already sent, and these had 
scarcely been formed when the charge of cavalry was 
announced: it was met and repulsed; men and liors.es 
were tumbled over the steep bank on the narrow road 
below, skirting the ravine. The gallant young officer 
who led that charge, passed through the ranks like a 
lion pouncing on his prey, and was made prisoner by 
McNamara of the grenadier company. This man, if my 
memory serve me well, gave the horse and sword to one 
of our captains, who was afterwards appointed brevet- 
major; but poor M 4 Namara, who was more of a sol¬ 
dier than a courtier, rose not to corporal; he is yet to 
be seen, not like the Sidonian whom the messengers of 
Alexander found weeding his garden when they sought 
him to be king, nor like the Roman cultivating his little 
field, when he was requested to take the charge of an 
army, but employed in the humbler avocation of making 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


107 


wooden dishes, and occasionally selling them on the mar¬ 
ket street of Newry. 

After this repulse of the cavalry, we passed through 
the ravine, and moved towards the road that passes over 
the bending of the hill. The light-infantry companies 
of the brigade, under the command of Major Cowel (after¬ 
wards brevet lieutenant-colonel), were skirmishing in 
front. The major was severely wounded and carried to 
the rear. 

The hill rises rather abruptly on the east side of the 
road, and slopes gradually towards the north side, to 
which our advance was directed, in order to turn the 
enemy’s right, which had fallen back as we advanced. 
The main road now defined the direct line between both 
armies; the enemy’s left at Orthez, his centre on the 
south ascent to the summit of the hill, and his right from 
the summit descending to the fields on the north side. 
There is a small village consisting of one street on that 
brow of the hill towards the north, upon which the enemy 
was driven back, and from this kept up a destructive fire 
of musquetry from garden walls, windows, and loopholes. 
Our regiment was ordered to drive him from that annoy¬ 
ing post, which I may say had now become the right of 
his position. The bearer of this order was Lieutenant' 
Innes, who was then acting brigade-major to Sir D. Pack ; 
he preceded the regiment, and may be said to have led it 
on. The word of command to advance at the charge, 
was received with loud animating cheers. 

No movement in the field is made with greater confi¬ 
dence of success than that of the charge; it affords little 
time for thinking, while it creates a fearless excitement. 





108 


RETROSPECT OF 


and tends to give a fresh impulse to the blood of the ad¬ 
vancing soldier, rouses his courage, strengthens every 
nerve, and drowns every fear of danger or of death; thus 
emboldened amidst the deafening shouts that anticipate 
victory, he rushes on and mingles with the flying foe. 

In an instant the village Avas in our possession, and the 
fugitives were partly intercepted by the advance of the 
second division of the army, under Lord Hill, which had 
passed the Pau above Orthez, and was noAv approaching 
round the east end of the heights. 

The enemy, thus dispossessed of his last position of any 
importance, commenced a hasty retreat through some en¬ 
closed fields and young plantations, through which his 
columns directed their course, until impeded by intersect¬ 
ing ditches which induced them to take the main road; 
there the ranks were broken, confusion ensued, and a 
complete route Avas the consequence. 

Fortunately for them the sun Avas nearly set, and al¬ 
though the pursuit continued for several miles, the\ r 
succeeded in keeping the lead; and having reassembled 
during the night, continued their retreat towards the 
Adour. 

The loss of the regiment in this battle AA’as four officers, 
six sergeants, and eighty-eight rank-and-file. 

I have already mentioned that Lieutenant Innes (our 
adjutant) was doing the duty of brigade-major. It was 
near the close of this day’s contest that he carried the 
orders of the general for the regiment to drive the enemA' 
from the village situated on the north broAv of the hill ; 
he might have retired after delivering the orders, Avithout 
throwing a blot on his good name, but his heart Avas with 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


109 


the regiment, and he advanced to the charge in person; 
not with a fearful heart or a half-shut eye, to watch the 
distant motions, but spurring forward his steed in the 
blazing front of battle, led the way to victory. It was 
amidst the animating shouts which arose around him, that 
the last hostile and fatal bullet pierced his brain, and laid 
him in the dust. He fell amidst our foremost ranks, and 
breathed his last between the saddle and the ground. 

We left behind us our dead, our dying, and our 
wounded; the former careless who shut those eyes that 
looked up to heaven from their gory bed, or who should 
consign their naked limbs to a grave in the field of a 
strange land. But our dying are sometimes left to the 
mercy of strangers. Shall some good Samaritan bind up 
their wounds and afford them protection under some 
hospitable roof, in the country which their invading feet 
have trod, and while their hands are still recking with the 
blood of its bravest defenders ? or shall some saneuinarv 

o 

wretch put an end to their life and pain at once ? Perhaps 
this might be the most welcome to the toil-worn soldier ; 

o 

but, alas! a harder fate awaits many. The midnight plun¬ 
derer shuts his ears to mercy’s call, strips the helpless, 
bleeding, dying sufferer, and leaves him naked to breath 
his last beneath the frostv skv, on the field saturated with 
his blood. 

Night suspended hostilities, and the army bivouacked 
in columns on the fields bordering the road leading to 
St. Severe. 

Night, after a battle, is always glorious to the undis¬ 
puted victors ; they draw close to one another to hear and 
tell of the hazards of the day, while some show the petty 

L 







110 


RETROSPECT OF 


prizes snatched off the field, and curse some intermeddling 
satrap that would not let them linger behind to get a bet¬ 
ter. The batmen and baggage-guard join the jocund 
circles round the camp fires, and exhibit some full canteens 
of wine, the hastily snatched spoil of the day, or the plun¬ 
der of some poultry-house, baker’s o ven, or farmer’s pantry, 
no less acceptable to men long used to mouldy ship-biscuit 
and scanty fare, than silver or gold would have been to 
those who experienced no want. 

Midnight shuts our eyes in welcome slumber, and 
nought is heard to break the awful stillness that prevails, 
save the tinkling; of the mule-bells and the tread of a 
silent soldier round the expiring embers of a camp fire. 

On the 28th we advanced on the road leading to 
St. Severe, our cavalry in front, pursuing and harassing 
the enemy’s rear, and making a number of his stragglers 
prisoners. Many of these were deeply gashed by sabre- 
wounds, and being unable to get on so fast as the escorts 
urged, they fell down by the road-side faint from loss of 
blood, or panting with thirst, frequently soliciting a little 
water to cool their parched tongues. It is but justice to 
say, that the British soldier attended to their appeals 
and relieved them, when in his power so to do, and 
sympathized as much for them as if they had never fired a 
shot at him. 

In civil wars, the passions of the combatants may be 
mutually excited, by political causes or sectarian zeal, to 
deadly hatred; but with us no incentive but that of duty 
urged us on, and if our opponents at any time seemed 
actuated by a spirit of vengeance, it was not to be won¬ 
dered at, as we were invaders. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


Ill 


We halted this day about three leagues from St. Severe, 
where the road is crossed by a considerable stream. A 
bridge had been destroyed here, and some trenches cut so 
as to impede the advance of our cavalry and guns. In 
consequence of these obstacles, we encamped on the south 
side of the valley looking towards a range of heights oc¬ 
cupied by the enemy, and where we supposed a stand 
was to be made, and another battle the consequence, be- 
fqre we should be permitted to proceed much farther. 

A considerable quantity of vine-supporters lay scattered 
in bundles contiguous to our regiment’s camp-ground, 
and dry wood being always a desirable article for those 
who had the culinary duties to perform, a general charge 
was made, in order to secure a quantity, before the other 
regiments came to the knowledge of it. 

Our colonel had just dismounted, and was about to 
proceed to a farm-house adjoining to stable his horse, 
when the sudden rush of the men, after having piled their 
arms and thrown down their knapsacks, attracted his at¬ 
tention. He gazed upon them with astonishment, hesi¬ 
tated a moment, and asked one of the guard the cause of 
so sudden a movement: this soon discovered itself, for the 
men were loaded with armsful of sticks, and rejoicing 
over their booty and good luck, anticipating the comfort¬ 
able warmth it would afford during the drizzly night. 
Sir Denis Pack had taken up his quarters in the farm¬ 
house, or was supposed to have done so, and nothing was 
more likely than that he would take an interest in protect¬ 
ing the owner’s property. The colonel, whether in dread 
of the general or a mistaken sense of justice, called out to 
the marauders, as he was pleased to call them, to carry 

l 2 








112 


RETROSPECT OP 


back their burdens ; some obeyed, others dropped them at 
their feet, and a few, less obedient, persisted in bringing 
them along; but the whole seemed rather unwilling to 
comply. The colonel, dissatisfied at the apathy displayed 
in obeying his orders, darted among the offenders, and 
personally chastised those who seemed the most reluctant 
to obey. 

Among the most refractory of those wood foragers were 
two men of singular dispositions; their names were Hen¬ 
derson and Doury. The former was a contradictory, 
obstinate, careless, awkward fellow; his visage was long, 
his lips thick, his mouth always open, and, to use a 
Scotch term, slavering. Ilis feet were flat-soled, without 
any spring, and he marched like a wearied pedlar under 
a pack, jolting along the road; he had not seen much 
service, but, like many old soldiers, he had much to say; 
lie was nicknamed u the Gome ml.” Doury was a silly, 
good-natured simpleton, the butt of every mans jest, yet 
no jester himself; for, when excited, his utterance failed 
so far, that it was little else than a breathless gibbering 
of inarticulate sounds. Such another couple was not in 
the regiment, or perhaps in the brigade, and would not be 
accepted of for the service in time of peace. Those two 
were bringing in their burdens, notwithstanding the inter¬ 
diction, and had entered the field on which the colonel 
was standing. Ignorance could not be pleaded, for all 
the men had thrown down their loads at the colonel’s 
desire, and had withdrawn, just as so many sclioolbovs 
would have done, from some forbidden ground, when 
their master’s stern voice was heard. The colonel observ¬ 
ing that Henderson led the other on, strode hastily for- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


113 


ward to enforce obedience; Doury was the first to ob¬ 
serve him, fled past his companion, dropped the sticks at 
his feet, and escaped. Not so Henderson ; he fell over the 
bundle dropped at his feet, with his face pressed against 
the soft miry field; the colonel overtook him as lie reco¬ 
vered, seized him by the kilt, the pins of which yielded 
to the tug, and left his naked posteriors to some merited 
chastisement. This excited bursts of laughter from all 
the men, and the poor fellow afterwards declared that he 
was more vexed at the laughter than hurt by the punish¬ 
ment. 

Had the colonel been a severe or strict disciplinarian, 
or even a harsh commanding officer, he might have had 
recourse to courts-martial and punishments, after this dis¬ 
play of opposition or reluctant obedience to his command ; 
but no other punishment followed the offence than that 
which he had inflicted himself. 

The interdiction imposed by the colonel on the regi¬ 
ment was of no small service to the men of the other 
corps, who failed not to benefit themselves by drawing 
their supplies of fuel without leave and without repri¬ 
mand, from the same store from which we anticipated so 
much comfort. 

War is considered a curse to any country engaged in it, 
but that which becomes the seat of it necessarily feels the 
scourge with more than tenfold violence. The victor 
may pour forth his hosts to fatten the fields of a foreign 
i land, and his loss be scarcely reckoned amongst the mil¬ 
lions of his nation, though the tidings may give sorrow 
to individuals whose friends have fallen in battle. Though 
the mother may bewail the loss of her son, the wife that 

l 3 















114 


RETROSPECT OF 


of her husband, the sister of a brother, or the maid that 
of her lover; yet she sees not the hand of oppression by 
which the vanquished are held down, neither does she 
hear the tread of the unwelcome invader approaching her 
dwelling; her hearth is inviolate; no marauder steps in 
to claim a superior right to its comforts; no prowling 
straggler from a hostile camp preys upon her property, 
searching for booty, as is the case where adverse armies 
are assembled. 

Notwithstanding the frequent roll-calls to keep the 
men from marauding, plenty flowed into the camp through 
illicit channels during the night, evading guards, picquets, 
patroles, and sentries. 

It may be asked, u Were not the officers and non-com¬ 
missioned officers very remiss in their duty, in not sup¬ 
pressing those unwarrantable oppressions, so manifestly 
opposed to the orders of the commander of the forces ? 
Was not the acceptance of any part or portion of the 
booty (for we must believe that part of it fell to the officers 
or non-commissioned officers’ share) a participation in the 
violence offered to the inhabitants? Was not the over¬ 
looking of those breaches of orders on the part of the 
plunderers, equivalent to a silent assent to their actions V 

He that questions thus, may do so from the best of 
motives, namely, philanthropy; but soldiers are not phi¬ 
lanthropists ; and the questioner would perhaps be in¬ 
clined to relax a little from the laudable principle which 
may actuate his conduct and feelings when sitting com¬ 
fortably at home, were he placed under similar circum¬ 
stances, in a hostile country, after months of half-fasting 
and half-feeding on bare bones and mouldy ship-biscuit; 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


115 


and I assure him, that the officers' share of those things 
was less than some may imagine. Yet the pleasure of 
occasionally seeing plenty and cheerfulness around, gave 
them a satisfaction surpassing that which they could have 
had, if they had been inquisitively pressing to know 
whence every mouthful of meat came into the soldier’s 
possession. 








116 


RETROSPECT OP 


CHAPTER IX. 

Cross the Adour.—My Wife left behind, and in some Difficulty.— 

Likely to get into a Scrape_Bad State of the Men's Clothing. 

—Avidity in stripping the Dead.—Cantonments_Camp near 

Ayre.—St. Patrick’s Day.—Cross the Garonne.—The Soldiers 
cheat the Peasantry_Battle of Toulouse. 

On the 1st of March we passed St. Severe, and forded the 
Adour about a furlong below the bridge, which the 
enemy had been endeavouring to break down, but bad not 
thoroughly succeeded in their attempt; they had damaged 
it so far, however, as to retard the advance of our guns 
until the breach was repaired. 

The river at this place seems little inferior to the Shan¬ 
non at Limerick, but the stream spreads more equally over 
the channel, no part being deeper than three feet at the 
ford. In passing through, the men supported each other 
as well as they could, so as to prevent them falling, for the 
stones in the bottom were very slippery. 

The wife of a sergeant of one of the regiments at¬ 
tempted to pass on a donkey, with a child in her arms, 
and owing to some sudden stumble or slip of the ani¬ 
mal, the child gave a start and dropped into the stream; 
the distracted mother gave a shriek, leaped after the in¬ 
fant, and both were swept off by the rapid current, in the 
presence of the husband, who plunged into the water in 


A MILITARY LIFE. 117 

hopes to recover them, but they were gone for ever, and 
he himself was with difficulty rescued. 

After this accident, the women who were following the 
army remained until the bridge was so far repaired as to 
enable them to pass over. 

After having crossed the river, we marched a few 
miles up the right bank, or contiguous thereto, on the 
main road, and took up our camp-ground for the night 
in a newly ploughed field, rendered a complete mire by 
the rain and hail which fell upon us with dreadful fury 
as we were piling our arms on the broken ridges. Yet, 
notwithstanding the severity of this headlong torrent, a 
hundred fires were blazing in a few minutes along the 
side of the fences that bordered the fields. Fortunately 
for us, General Pack had taken up his quarters in the 
farm-house adjoining, and allowed straw, of which there 
was abundance, to be taken for the bottom of the tents; 
this was an unexpected indulgence, even although the 
straw was rather wet. I was General Pack's orderly 
this night, and had a good roof over my head, and the 
dry floor of a cart-shed, with plenty of dry straw for a 
bed; but my poor wife was absent, for the first time 
since we left home. She was detained along with several 
other women, on the right bank of the Adour, until the 
bridge was repaired. While this was doing, one of the 
women belonging to the regiment begged her to take 
charge of a little ass-colt with a couple of bundles, until 
she should go back to St. Severe to make some purchases; 
she complied, and before the other returned, the bridge 
was repaired. One regiment had passed, and she fol¬ 
lowed driving the colt before her; but before she got to 

/ <w- 






118 


RETROSPECT OF 


the further end, the stubborn animal stood.still and would 
not move a foot. Another regiment was advancing, the 
passage was impeded, and what to do she knew not. She 
was in the act of removing the woman’s bundles from 
the beast’s back, and struggling to get out of the way, 
determined to leave the animal, when a grenadier of the 
advancing regiment, casting his eye on a finely polished 
horn with the masonic arms cut on it, and slung over her 
shoulder, stepped aside, saying, “ Poor creature, T shall 
not see you left struggling there, for the sake of what 
is slung by your side.” At the same time handing his 
musket to one of his comrades, he lifted the colt in his 
arms and carried it to the end of the bridge. My poor 
wife thanked him with the tear in her eye, the only 
acknowledgment she could make for his kindness; but 
she has often thought of it since, and congratulated her¬ 
self on having the good fortune to have that horn, empty 
as it was, with its talismanic hieroglyphics, slung by her 
side, on that occasion, and thus to raise up a friend when 
she was so much in need of one. 

There was a corporal’s guard over the general’s quarters, 
and in the morning we had an excellent fire in front of 
the house, where a few of the men from the camp came 
to warm themselves and dry their clothes and appoint¬ 
ments; among these were the adjutant’s clerk, some of 
the guard, and myself. During this time one of the guard, 
unaccompanied by the corporal, relieved the sentry, and 
posted himself, without the ceremony of regular relief. 
Lliis was done, if not to our knowledge, at least where we 
might have seen it; but, indeed, this mode of relieving- 
was so common, when it could pass without detection, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


J 19 


* 

that the non-commissioned officers, as well as the privates, 
did not think much about it, notwithstanding its beinor a 
very serious breach of duty. The general had observed 
the whole proceeding from his window, which overlooked 
the place, and lost no time in repairing to the spot. He 
commenced by interrogating the clerk on the subject, and 
he denied having observed it; this put the general in a 
passion, for he had doubtless observed very well how far 
we were culpable before he came to question about the 
matter. “ As for you,” said Sir Denis, turning to me, 
“ you are no less guilty than he, to be standing there 
without attending to what is passing ; go instantly,” he 
continued, “ and confine those two men, report to Colo¬ 
nel Macara having done so, and also that two of his own 
sergeants were present when the breach of duty for which 
the sentries are confined was committed, and without 
offering the least opposition to it. I shall leave it to the 
colonel to take such steps as he may think fit to put a 
stop to such irregularities.” 

It was certainly very lenient in the general, to allow 
me to be the reporter of my own negligence; for if he 
had had an intention to visit our neglect or oversight 
with more than a reprimand, he would have sent another 
messenger or a written communication to the colonel, and 
not a verbal message by one of those concerned in the 
matter of complaint, one who was to be considered guilty, 
and would not fail to make the report as favourable for 
himself as possible. However, I make little doubt but 
the general thought he had inflicted considerable punish¬ 
ment by his own personal reprimand. 

In proceeding to execute my disagreeable commission, 





i&) 


RETKOSPECT OF 


I met the colonel on his way to the general’s, and began 
to state the message with which I was charged. “ Two 
of the men,” I said, “ are confined by order of the gene¬ 
ral, for relieving and posting irregularly; it has been done 
without the corporal’s knowledge, but as l am the gene¬ 
ral’s orderly for the day, and was on the spot, most likely 
the men thought there was no harm in relieving as I w r as 
standing beside them.” The colonel interrupted me by 
saying, “ There is always something disagreeable occur¬ 
ring to the general’s notice, very unpleasant indeed; but 
here he comes himself.” 

After passing the usual compliments of the morning, 
the colonel began to apologize by expressing his regret 
that the general should have had so much occasion to find 
fault at the careless manner of the duty having been per- 

l 

formed, and turning towards me, said, “ You may go 
away.” 

I returned to the general’s quarters and heard no more 
of the matter; the two soldiers wdio had been confined 
were relieved before night, in consequence of some skir¬ 
mishing taking place in the course of the day, and in 
which we had three men killed and a few r wounded. 

It was generally the case in the regiment, at that time, 
to send all the prisoners to their respective companies in 
the morning when the battalion was about to march off; 
and if the crime was not of a serious nature, the officer 
commanding the company was sometimes pleased to for¬ 
give, without recommitting the defaulter at night when 
we halted, and at which time our guard mounted. 

At this time the clothing of the army at large, but the 
Highland brigade in particular, was in a very tattered 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


121 


state. The clothing of the 91st regiment had been two 
years in wear; the men were thus under the necessity of 
repairing their old garments in the best manner they 
could: some had the elbows of the coats mended with 
gray cloth, others had the one half of the sleeve of a 
different colour from the body; and their trowsers were 
in equally as bad a condition as their coats. 

The 42d, which was the only corps in the brigade that 
wore the kilt, was beginning to lose it by degrees; men 
falling sick and left in the rear frequently got the kilt made 
into troAvsers, and on joining the regiment again no plaid 
could be furnished to supply the loss; thus a great want of 
uniformity prevailed; but this aatis of minor importance 
when compared to the Avant of shoes. As our march con¬ 
tinued daily, no time Avas to be found to repair them, until 
completely Avorn out; this left a number to march with 
bare feet, or, as Ave termed it, to pad the hoof. These men 
being occasionally permitted to straggle out of the ranks 
to select the soft part of the roads or fields adjoining, 
others Avho had not the same reason to offer for this 
indulgence folloAved the example, until each regiment 
marched regardless of keeping in rank, and sometimes 
mixed with other corps in front and rear. To put a stop 
to this irregularity, the men Avithout shoes Avere formed 
by themselves, and marched, under the command of offi¬ 
cers and non-commissioned officers, in rear of the brigade. 

It is impossible to describe the painful state that some 
of those shoeless men Avere in, crippling along the Avay, 
their feet cut or torn by sharp stones or brambles. 

To remedy the want of shoes, the raw hides of the 
neAvly-slaughtered bullocks Avere given to cut up, on pur- 




122 


RETROSPECT OF 


pose to form a sort of buskins for the barefooted soldiers. 
This served as a substitute for shoes, and enabled the 
wearers to march in the ranks of their respective com¬ 
panies. 

Our knapsacks were also by this time beginning to dis¬ 
play, from their torn ends, their worthless contents; and 
as our line of march was in an opposite direction from our 
expected supplies, our exterior appearance was daily get¬ 
ting worse; but the real spirit of the soldier was improv¬ 
ing, and I make little doubt but we would have followed 
our leaders to the extremity of Europe without grum¬ 
bling. We were getting hardier and stronger every day 
in person; the more we suffered, the more confidence 
we felt in our strength; all in health, and no sickness. 
The man in patched clothes and a piece of untanned hide 
about his feet, when he looked around him, saw others in 
some respects as ill appointed as himself; and he almost 
felt a pride in despising any new comer, with dangling 
plumes, plaited or crimped frills, white gloves, and hand¬ 
some shoes,—all good-for-nothing frippery to the hardy 
toil-worn soldier, the man of flint, powder, and steel, as 
he thought himself. His was the gloveless hand and the 
shoeless foot, that braved alike the cold and the heat, the 
toil of the field and the fatigue of the march; nothin^- 
came wrong to him; he started in the morning from his 
hard pillow and harder bed, required no time to blacken 
his shoes, but braced up his knapsack, regardless of the 
state of the roads or weather, and was ready to march off. 

I have already mentioned that there was some skir¬ 
mishing with the enemy this day, as we advanced. Ex¬ 
tensive plantations of young trees lined the road, and in 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


123 


these the light troops of the enemy were posted to check 
our advance, and our light company was sent out to scour 
to the right of the road. Here we had three men killed 
and several w T ounded. One of those who were killed had 
been doing the duty of pioneer, previous to this day; 
doubtless he had considered this a degrading duty, and 
had pressingly requested to be permitted to join the 
ranks; his request was granted; this was his first entry 
on the field since he obtained that indulgence, and here 
he fell. He lay on the field adjoining the road; some one 
had rifled his knapsack, but had thrown the blanket over 
him. Having the general’s baggage in charge, I was fol¬ 
lowing the brigade with the guard and the mules, when I 
observed some soldiers examining to what regiment the 
killed belonged; one bore off the knapsack, but left the 
blanket carelessly cast on the corpse; a batman was 
making a prize of the blanket, and a Portuguese mule¬ 
teer was about to take off the kilt. I could be at no loss 
to know to what regiment he belonged, as the 42d was 
the only corps in the division that had that dress, and I 
desired one of the guard to recover the blanket and to 
spread it over the body, for we had no time to inter it; 
he sprung on the spoilers in an instant, snatched the 
blanket from the batman, and seizing the muleteer rather 
roughly, tumbled him into the ditch that lined the road; 
then spreading the blanket over the corpse, left it; but 
doubtless to be soon stripped again. Thus falls the poor 
soldier. 

We continued to advance day after day, encamping by 
night, until the 4th of March, when, in consequence of 
the continued state of unfavourable weather, we vrere 

m 2 




124 


RETROSPECT OF 


ordered into cantonments, and our brigade was quartered 
in the neighbourhood of Barcelon, nearly opposite to 
Ayre. We remained here until the 15th, when we 
crossed the river at Ayre, and encamped about two miles 
to the westward of that town. Here the regiment was 
joined by a draught from the second battalion, as well as 
by a considerable number of men from hospitals in the 
rear. The latter had, by some casual negligence of the 
officer in command, been surprised on their way to join 
by an inconsiderable party of the enemy’s foragers; they 
had, however, been soon afterwards abandoned as a 
troublesome charge, and found their way to the regi¬ 
ment with this draught. 

The day on which we received this augmentation was 
the anniversary of St. Patrick, a day well known in the 
British army by the indulgence taken in the deep carouse ; 
and so far was it kept up in this camp, that if giving a 
loose to intemperance be a certain passport to the saint’s 
favour, it was purchased to a certainty that day by at 
least three divisions of the army forming that encampment, 
which was, in consequence, designated by some “ the 
drunken camp.” 

We advanced on the 18th, passed through Pau as the 
sun was setting, and encamped on the beautiful meadows 
east of that town. 

Our movements were now directed towards Toulouse, 
but so protractedly, that it was the 5th April before we 
effected the passage of the Garonne, about three leagues be¬ 
low that city, and established ourselves on the right bank. 

A few of the peasantry brought bread in small quan¬ 
tities to the camp, and met, if not with a profitable, at 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


125 


least with a ready market. But I have no hesitation in 
stating, that on the whole they were no gainers, in conse¬ 
quence of the pressure of the demand, and the haste of the 
buyers to slip off without paying. One poor man had 
brought a few dollars worth, sold it in a few minutes, but 
had received little more than one dollar, so quickly had the 
purchasers made off after being supplied. He happened to 
recognise one of his cruel customers, and demanded pay¬ 
ment, hut the soldier insisted that he had given the dollar 
which the man held in his hand, and that he was waiting 
for the change; to the truth of which assertion he swore 
with the most determined audacity. No one, however, 
who knew Scully, believed him; but as no proof could be 
brought to the contrary, the poor man had actually to lose 
the balance, which, very likely, was falsely claimed. Lieu¬ 
tenants Farquharson and Watson, having as fir as possi¬ 
ble taken the dealer's part, made up a small sum for him, 
which perhaps left him no loser. 

We broke up camp a little after midnight, on the 
morning of Easter Sunday, the 10th of April, and marched 
towards Toulouse. The moon shone bright in the un¬ 
clouded heavens, and reflected a stream of light from the 
muskets of our advanced columns, for our arms had not 
then received the brown varnish that now “ dims their 
shine.” All nature seemed to enjoy repose, save our 
moving columns on every side, and the bull-frogs that 
gave to the midnight breeze their loud unharmonious 
croaking as we silently marched along. 

The sun arose over the hills that stretch along the 
eastern banks of the Ers, and shone on forty thousand 
bayonets that glistened round the heights of Toulouse, 

m 3 








126 RETROSPECT OF 

where Marshal Soult stood, determined to oppose our 
advance. 

General Pack’s brigade was formed in contiguous co¬ 
lumns of regiments to the left of the road leading to 
Toulouse. At this time the Spaniards, who were in ad¬ 
vance and ascending the heights, were attacked with such 
fury that they gave way in all directions. It was appre¬ 
hended that the enemy would have borne down upon us 
in the impetuosity of the movement, and we deployed into 
lines. The 79th regiment was at this time in front of the 
42d, and General Pack, anticipating a charge from the 
enemy’s victorious and elated infantry, after thus scatter¬ 
ing the Spaniards, gave orders to the 79th to receive them 
with a volley, immediately form four deep, face about, and 
pass through the ranks of the 42d. The latter received 
orders to form four deep, as soon as the former had given 
its fire; let the line pass through, then form up, give a 
volley, and charge. 

This was providing against what might have taken 
place, but did not, for the enemy was recalled, and the 
Spaniards were afterwards rallied. 

We now moved otf to our left, along a green embank¬ 
ment, a small lake or large pond on our left, and a wet 
ditch and marshy meadow on the right. The shot and 
shell were flying over our heads into the lake, but the 
range was too elevated to hurt us, and we ran alono- the 

CD 7 o 

bank until we came to a place where we could leap the 
ditch and form on the swampy ground beyond it. We 
had scarcely formed, when a strong column of the enemy, 
with drums beating a march, descended the hill in our 
front, and thinking from the nature of the ground that we 




A MILITARY LIFE. 


127 


should be neither able to advance or retreat, rushed down 
confident of success. For us to retire would have been 
scarcely practicable ; the bank from which we had leaped 
down and over the ditch was too high in several places 
for us to leap back, from such uncertain footing; for we 
were sinking to the ancles, and sometimes deeper at every 
step; to advance was the only alternative, and it was 
taken. 

The light companies of the division were by this time 
in our front, and without any hesitation dashed forward; 
we followed fast, and the opposing column reascended the 
hill and left us the undisputed masters of the valley. 

W e now ascended at double quick time, and the whole 
of the division crowned the eastern summit of the heights. 
Here we were exposed to a destructive fire of round shot, 
shell, grape, and musketry, while we had not as yet got 
up one gun, owing to the numerous obstructions that lay 
in the way. The ground we occupied sloped towards one 
of the main roads that runs over the hill to the city, and 
the fields on the opposite side of the road were in posses¬ 
sion of the enemy, and extremely broken and intersected 
by deep cross-roads, breast-works, and redoubts; but 
could, from our present position, have been commanded 
by artillery, had it been practicable to bring a few guns 
forward; but this required some time, and indefatigable 
labour. 

The light companies of the division advanced beyond 
the road, and maintained a very unequal skirmish with 
the enemy, who lay securely posted behind their breast¬ 
works and batteries, and in their redoubts, from all of 
which they took the most deadly aim. The 61st regi- 






128 


RETROSPECT OF 


ment was ordered forward to support the skirmishers, and 
became the marked object of the enemy’s batteries, from 
which incessant showers of grape cut down that corps by 
sections, while Soult was perhaps not losing a man, being 
so safely sheltered from our musketry; it was therefore 
seen necessary to withdraw the skeleton of that regiment 
to the road, on which we had taken post after its advance; 
it was now warmly welcomed back, for its retreat was no 
defeat, and its loss was scarcely equalled by any corps in 
the field. Not a subaltern left the field without a wound, 
and the honour of the colours was assigned to sergeants. 

The enemy, emboldened by this momentary success on 
his part, began to advance towards the road, and our regi¬ 
ment was ordered to advance by w T ings and storm one of 
the redoubts. 

Our colonel was a brave man, but there are moments 
when a well-timed manoeuvre is of more advantage than 
courage. The regiment stood on the road with its front 
exactly to the enemy, and if the left wing had been or¬ 
dered forward, it could have sprung up the bank in line 
and dashed forward on the enemy at once. Instead of 
this, the colonel faced the right wing to its right, counter¬ 
marched in rear of the left, and when the leading rank 
cleared the left flank it was made to file up the bank, and 
as soon as it made its appearance the shot, shell, and 
'musketry poured in with deadly destruction; and in this 
exposed position we had to make a second countermarch, 
on purpose to bring our front to the enemy. These 
movements consumed much time, and by this unnecessary 
exposure exasperated the men to madness. The word 
“ Forward—double quick !” dispelled the gloom, and for- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


129 


ward we drove, in the face of apparent destruction. The 
field had been lately rough ploughed or under fallow, and 
when a man fell he tripped the one behind, thus the ranks 
were opening as we approached the point whence all this 
hostile vengeance proceeded; but the rush forward had 
received an impulse from desperation, “ the spring of the 
mens patience had been strained until ready to snap, and 
Avhen left to the freedom of its own extension, ceased not 
to act until the point to which it was directed was at¬ 
tained.” In a minute every obstacle was surmounted; 
the enemy fled as we leaped over the trenches and mounds 
like a pack of noisy hounds in pursuit, frightening them 
more by our wild hurrahs than actually hurting them by 
ball or bayonet. 

The redoubt, thus obtained, consisted of an old country 
farm-cottage, the lower part of its walls stone, the upper 
part mud or clay. It stood in the corner of what had 
been a garden, having one door to a road or broad lane 
and another to the garden; the whole forming a square 
which had been lately fortified on three sides by a deep 
but dry trench, from which the earth had been cast in¬ 
wards, and formed a considerable bank, sloping inwards, 
but presenting a perpendicular face of layers of green turf 
outwards. The cottage served as a temporary magazine, 
and the mound or embankment as a cover to the enemy 
from the fire of our troops; and from this place our men 
had been dreadfully cut down. 

It cannot be for an instant supposed that all this could 
have been effected without very much deranging our 
ranks, and as the enemy had still a powerful force, and 
other works commanding this, time would not permit of 



130 


RETROSPECT OF 


particularity, and a brisk independent fire was kept up 
with more noise than good effect by our small groups 
upon our not yet defeated enemy. Our muskets were 
getting useless by the frequent discharges, and several of 
the men were having recourse to the French pieces that 
lay scattered about, but they had been as freely used as 
our own, and were equally unserviceable. Our number 
of effective hands was also decreasing, and that of the again 
approaching foe irresistible. Two officers (Captain Camp¬ 
bell and Lieutenant Young) and about sixty of inferior 
rank were all that now remained without a wound of the 
right wing of the regiment that entered the field in the 
morning. The flag was hanging in tatters, and stained 
with the blood of those who had fallen over it. The 
standard, cut in two, had been successively placed in the 
hands of three officers, who fell as we advanced; it was 
now borne by a sergeant, while the few remaining sol¬ 
diers who rallied around it, defiled with mire, sweat, 
smoke, and blood, stood ready to oppose with the bayonet 
the advancing column, the front files of which were pour¬ 
ing in destructive slioAvers of musketry among our con¬ 
fused ranks. To have disputed the post with such over¬ 
whelming numbers, would have been the hazarding the 
loss of our colours, and could serve no general interest to 
our army, as we stood betAveen the front of our advancing 
support and the enemy; Ave A\ere therefore ordered to 
retire. The greater number passed through the cottage, 
noAv filled Avith Avounded and dying, and leaped from the 
door that Avas over the road into the trench of the redoubt, 
among the killed and wounded. 

W e Avcre noAv betAveen tAvo fires of musketry, the ene- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


131 


my to our left and rear, the 79th and left wing of our own 
regiment in our front. Fortunately the intermediate space 
did not exceed a hundred paces, and our safe retreat de¬ 
pended upon the speed with which we could perform it. 
We rushed along like a crowd of hoys pursuing the 
bounding ball to its distant limit, and in an instant 
plunged into a trench that had been cut across the road: 
the balls were whistling amongst us and over us; while 
those in front w’ere struggling to get out, those behind 
were holding them fast for assistance, and w T e became 
firmly wedged together, until a horse without a rider 
came plunging down on the heads and bayonets of those 
in, his way; they on whom he fell were drowned or 
smothered, and the gap thus made gave way for the rest 
to get out. 

The rioht win" of the regiment, thus broken down and 
in disorder, was rallied by Captain Campbell (afterwards 
brevet lieutenant-colonel) and the adjutant (Lieutenant 
Young) on a narrow road, the steep banks of which 
served as a cover from the showers of grape that swept 
over our heads. 

In this contest, besides our colonel, who was wounded 
as he gave the word of command, “ Forward,” the regi¬ 
ment lost, in killed and wounded, twenty officers, one 
sergeant-major, and four hundred and thirty-six of infe¬ 
rior rank. 

Meantime the Portuguese brigade was*ordered to take 
possession of the evacuated redoubt, which was accom¬ 
plished with little loss, for the enemy had been backward 
of entering, lest w r e might have been drawing them into 
an ambush, or had an intention of blowing up the cottage, 







J32 


RETROSPECT OF 


in which a considerable quantity of loose cartridges had 
been left near a large fire, by themselves when they were 
driven out, and most likely intended for that purpose 
against us, but we had removed the whole to a place of 
less danger. 

Thus far the left flank of our army was secured; the 
Spaniards, further to the right, were making good their 
advances, our artillery was about getting posted on com¬ 
manding eminences, while only one battery remained on 
the western summit in the enemy’s possession, and before 
sunset it was stormed also, and all the heights overlook¬ 
ing Toulouse remained in our possession. 



A MILITARY LIFE, 


133 


CHAPTER X. 

Remarks after Battle—Narrow Escapes.—Lieutenant Farquharson 
mortally wounded—The Serjeant-major killed.—Wighton.— 
Captain Purvcs, 79th Regiment.—Acts of personal Prowess.— 
Mrs. Cunningham.—Lieutenant M‘Lare i Concluding Observa¬ 
tions on the Field_Accounts of Peace, and retrograde Move¬ 
ment—Disappointment.—Auch.—Balls and Carousals_March 

to Bourdeaux.—The Author appointed to take charge of the 
regimental Stores at Narac, and proceeds by Water to Bourdeaux. 
—Thunder-storm.—Arrives at Bourdeaux.—Its resemblance to 

the New Town of Edinburgh.—Religious Procession_Embarks 

for Ireland. 

It has been remarked by M. F. De Bourriemie, that 
“ the French troops, commanded by Soult, made Wel¬ 
lington pay dearly at Toulouse for his entrance into the 
south of France.” This remark tends to exalt the merit 
of Soult, as a commander, above Wellington, and the 
bravery of the French above the British. But, not to 
call in question the merits of either of the commanders, 
or of their respective armies, certainly, on this occasion, 
there was no great cause to boast of having made Wel¬ 
lington pay dearly for his victory. 

Every nation has an epoch in its annals which raises 
its military or naval fame above others, during the same 
period; and this consideration may serve to prove, that 
Courage, bravery, or enterprise is not a national inheritance 

N 




J34 


RETROSPECT OF 


of any people, but is the work of some master-spirit which 
draws it into action and leads it on. The soldiers of France 
unquestionably proved themselves worthy of their great 
master, consequently deserve a soldier’s praise. But with 
regard to Soulf, it is but justice to the French to say, 
that the defence of Toulouse was no masterpiece of gene¬ 
ralship. His troops certainly maintained the contest, 
worthy of the school in which they had been taught, and 
in a manner which the conqueror of half the continent 
would not have blushed to witness. When they retreated, 
it seemed to be by commandtherefore, to retire when 
ordered was the duty of the soldier: but in a military 
point of view, the commander was to blame for ordering 
a retreat when the sacrifice of a few lives, in pushing for¬ 
ward, might have insured success. Had Wellington had 
the command of the French in the same position, and 
been supported by his own generals, double the number 
of troops, let them have been the best in the world, 
would not have reached the summit of those heights or 
wrested a single breastwork out of his hands. All the 
approaches seemed to have been rendered impassable for 
our troops, while great skill had been exerted in con¬ 
structing batteries to bear upon those places which were 
supposed likely to cause us a momentary halt or a de¬ 
rangement in our ranks. I may also remark, that there 
was a most unpardonable neglect in Soult permitting two 
divisions of our army to remain unmolested after they 
had crossed the Garonne on the 6th, as we were com¬ 
pletely cut oft’ for two days from the rest of the army, in 
consequence of the pontoon bridge having been thrown 
aside by a swell of the river, or, as some say, by a float- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


135 


ing mill having been loosened from its fastenin-s and let. 
down against the bridge. 

o o 

I have already remarked that night, after battle, is 
always glorious to the undisputed victors, and whatever 
the loss may have been, the idea of it seems to be banished 
from our thoughtless minds. Here, however, by the first 
early dawning of the morning, let us more seriously cast 
our eye over this scene of slaughter, where the blood of 
the commander and the commanded mix indiscriminately 
together over the field. 

Here lies many a gallant soldier, whose name or fame 
will never pass .to another generation; yet the annals of 
otir country will do justice to the general merit of the 
whole; from my feeble pen no lasting fame can be ex¬ 
pected ; time blots it out as I write; and even w r ere I to 
attempt to pass an eulogy, it might be considered con¬ 
temptible, from so humble an individual, by those who 
survive and witnessed the action; therefore, I shall leave 
to an abler pen to do them justice. 

I trust I shall not be considered egotistical in saying 
that I had some narrow escapes this day; but what sol¬ 
dier entered the field, and came safe out of it, had not 
narrow escapes? A musket-ball struck my halberd in 
line with my cheek, another passed between my arm and 
my side and lodged in my knapsack, another struck the 
handle of my sword, and a fourth passed through my 
bonnet and knocked it off my head; had the ball been 
two inches lower, or I that much higher, the reader 
would have been saved the trouble of perusing this narra¬ 
tive. The company in which I was doing duty lost four 
officers, three sergeants, and fojty-seven rank and file, in 

n 2 





136 


RETROSPECT OF 


lulled and wounded. The officers were,—Lieutenant D. 
MTvenzie severely wounded, Lieutenants Farquharsou 
and Watson mortally wounded, and Ensign Latta killed. 

I had occasion to remark, before entering France, of 
Lieutenant Farquharsou having made me a present of a 
blanket, when my own was blown off my hut. lie fell 
this day, by my side, on the road skirting the redoubt 
and before we entered it. It was impossible to render 
him any assistance at the time, we were so closely en¬ 
gaged ; but when the action closed, I returned and found 
him where he fell. II e had been for a few minutes in 
the power of the enemy, and had been stripped of his 
sash, sword, epaulettes, and money, but no other violence 
had been offered to him. I got him conveyed to a house 
winch was enclosed in another redoubt, and now filled in 
every place with our wounded. From this he was re¬ 
moved, on the morning of the 12th, to Toulouse, where 

he died of his wounds. In him, I may say, I lost a 
mend. 

There was one officer of the regiment taken prisoner 
lis day: he had lately joined us from the 1st Royals in 
which he had been cadet, and had not the uniform of the 
regiment, but his deficiency of the uniform betrayed no 
lack of personal courage; the charm of the bonnet and 
plume, though wanting, did not make him less the sol 
‘her ; he fell, wounded, near to Lieutenant Farquharsou 
at the side of the redoubt, as we entered it, and when we’ 
it'd back he was made prisoner. 

I have already mentioned, that before the regiment 
advanced to storm the redoubt, we were posted on the 
mam road that passes over the heights. Dnrino the short 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


137 


time we were in that position, we had orders not to raise 
our heads above the bank, nor let the enemy see where 
we were posted; notwithstanding this prohibition, our 
sergeant-major, as brave a man as ever entered a field, 
was dispatched from the right flank to warn those on the 
left to comply with this order, for several were rising up 
occasionally and sending a bullet at the enemy, and thus 
perhaps defeating the intention of the order. lie went; 
but though cautioned to stoop as he proceeded, he con¬ 
sidered this unmanly, and never did he walk with a more 
upright dauntless carriage of the body or a firmer step : 
it was his last march; a bullet pierced his brain and 
stretched him lifeless, without a sigh. 

There was a man of the name of Wighton in the regi¬ 
ment, a grumbling, discontented, disaffected sort of a 
character. He was one of the men attached to the tent 
placed under my charge on joining the regiment. Some 
men take all for the best; not so with Wighton, he took 
every thing for the worst; indeed, his very countenance 
indicated something malignant, misanthropical, and even 
sottish in his disposition. He was a low, thick, squat 
fellow, with a dark yellowish swarthy complexion, and 
his broad face bore a strong; resemblance to that of a 
Calmuc Tartar. As he rushed along the field, his front- 
rank man exclaimed, “ God Almighty preserve us, this 
is dreadful!” a You be d—d,” Wighton replied, “ you 
have been importuning God Almighty this half-dozen of 
years, and it would be no wonder although He were to 
knock you down at last for troubling him so often; as 
for myself, I do not believe there is one; if there were, 
He would never have brought us here V The last word 

n 3 






138 


RETROSPECT OF 


hung unfinished on his tongue; the messenger of death 
sealed his lips in everlasting silence.* 

And here, thou troublesome, intermeddling, little man, 
the companion of my outward-bound voyage, thou who 
wert reduced for thy ill-timed officiousness and insubordi¬ 
nate behaviour, here thou best; death has for ever closed 
the scenes of this world over thee, and all thy faults and 
irregularities will soon be forgotten, and the remembrance 
of thee be no more in the regiment. Yet thy death, and 
the manner in which thou now best, surrounded by the 
fallen companions of those whom thine own actions made 
thine enemies, afford me something for deep reflection. Thy 
ill-timed boasting and unjustifiable conduct reduced thee 
to carry the musket, yet a few short months cancelled thy 
faults, and the halberd and sword were again restored to 
thy unworthy hands; yet, strange to say, they were 
scarcely firm in thy possession, till, in company with 
those generous men whom thy turbulence made thine ene¬ 
mies, thou losest all that had been restored, and life also. 

Yonder I see a young gallant hero stretched on the 

* Since writing these sketches, I have had the pleasure of reading 
“ The Reminiscences of a Campaign in the Pyrenees and South of 
France,” by J. Malcolm, Esq., late of the 42d. It is contained in the 
twenty-seventh volume of Constable’s Miscellany. Mr. Malcolm takes 
notice of Wigliton by the name of Wiunan, in page 288, and remarks 
that “ He was considered the wit of the company, and a most profane 
one he was. After a long march in wet weather, before the tents had 
arrived, I have seen him sit down,” says Mr. Malcolm, “ in the rain, 
and sport with his misery by holding out his cold wet hands and pray¬ 
ing for a little liell-fire to warm them. ” 

Perhaps Mr. Malcolm thought that Wight on was considered a wit ; 
but I had a better opportunity of knowing him than Mr. M. had: 
Wighton was known as a dull misanthrope and general sceptic. Mr. Mal¬ 
colm was the officer formerly alluded to having been taken prisoner. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


139 


battle-field. Gallant Purves ! thou hast sought fame far 
from the halls of thy fathers, and thou art now laid on 
the battle-field of a foreign land. But why that heavy 
sigh, my Mary ? Why does a tear steal down your cheek 
as I bring tbe name of the youth to your remembrance ? 
Is it because the days of childhood pass like a dream be¬ 
fore your eyes, and that you see him, who now lies low, 
a childish boy, stealing in amidst the cheerful circle of 
your playful companions at his father’s gate, and then 
gliding off like a shadow ? Why cherish those recollec¬ 
tions ? He is now laid low on his gory bed, and there 
shall the hardy thistle raise its spiry head to mark a 
Caledonian’s grave. Around that spot many a brave man 
of the Cameron Highlanders breathed his last, in cheer¬ 
ing on himself and companions to the fiery front of 
battle. 

I might mention many acts of personal prowess, no 
less honourable to the brave men who performed than 
they were creditable to the corps to which those men 
belonged: but as relations of this kind arc so often exag- 
gerated, that mey are and ought to be received with 
caution and even with a little doubt from the military 
journalist, particularly when he gives all the praise to his 
own corps, I shall therefore be sparing in giving them a 
place. Yet to pass over the whole would be unjustifiable 
in one who witnessed them, and considers that the bring¬ 
ing of the action itself into view may be the means of 
exciting others to emulate those acts of bravery which in 
the performance may be attended with greater success, 
and be better rewarded ; while it wakes the memory of 
those who survived that day, and witnessed its interest- 



140 


RETROSPECT OP 


I 


ing struggles, to the recollection of the incidents which 1 
shall briefly state. 

The contest that raged upwards of an hour around the 
redoubt, of which we had gained possession, was main¬ 
tained without much regard to order or strict discipline ; 
in short, it was rather tumultuary. Every man was sen¬ 
sible of the necessity of having order restored, but thought 
himself the only orderly man of all the rest, and his voice 
was heard over that of his commander calling out “ Form 
up” In the mean time, his own attention was more 
engaged in keeping in the crowd, to load his piece, and 
afterwards pushing forward, to send a bullet to the enemy 
as often as he possibly could load and discharge, than at¬ 
tending to formation. 

A grenadier of the 79th regiment, for both regiments 
(the 42d and 79th) were somewhat intermixed, rushed 
forward, discharged his piece with effect, and suddenly 
turning the musket, so as to grasp the muzzle, dealt 
deadly blows around him; he fell, grasping one of the 
enemy in one hand and the broken firelock in the other. 
Another sprung up on the top of the bank, called on his 
comrades to follow, and with a loud cheer, in which 
many joined that did not follow, he rushed forward in the 
same manner as his brave companion had done, and like 
him shared a similar fate. 

It is only in this disorganized kind of conflict that in¬ 
dividual courage may best act and best be seen. In 
united orderly movements, the whole acquires the praise ; 
and in this each individual is comprised, and proud of 
contributing his part to the honour of his corps, does his 
duty without attempting those feats of romantic daring 


I 


A MILITARY LIFE. 141 

which ancient historians record, but which modern tactics 
render nugatory or almost useless. Individual daring is 
lost in orderly movements. 

Here fell Cunningham, a corporal in the grenadier 
company, a man much esteemed in the regiment; he was 
a married man, but young, and was interred before his 
w r ife entered the dear-bought field; but she had heard of 
his fate, and flew, in spite of every opposition, to the field ; 
she looked around among the yet unburied soldiers to find 
her own, but she found him not. She flew to the place 
where the wreck of the regiment lay on the field. 44 Tell 
me,” she asked, 44 where Cunningham is laid, that I may 
sfce him and lay him in the grave with my own hand!” 
A tear rose in the soldier’s eye as he pointed towards the 
place, and twenty men started up to accompany her to 
the spot, for they respected the man and esteemed the 
woman. They lifted the corpse; the wounds were in his 
breast ; she washed them, and pressing his cold lips to 
hers, wept over him, wrapped the body in a blanket, and 
the soldiers consigned it to the grave : mournful she stood 
over the spot where her husband was laid, the earth was 
again closed over him, and she now stood a lonely unpro¬ 
tected being, far from her country or the home of her 
childhood. I should not perhaps say unprotected, for 
however callous our feelings may occasionally be, amidst 
a thousand distressing objects that surround us, any one 
of which, if individually presented to our consideration at 
any other time or place than the battle-field, would excite 
our sympathy, yet amidst all these neither the widow 
nor the orphan is left unregarded, or in some measure 
unprovided for. In this instance, the officer who com- 







142 


RETROSPECT OF 


manded the company to which Cunningham “belonged 
having been severely wounded, sent for the widow; she 
became his sick-nurse, and under his protection was 
restored in decent respectability to her home. TV orthy 
generous McLaren, thou art now no more; the wounds 
of that day preyed upon thy frame, shortened thy brief 
career, and bereaved the regiment of one of its best subal- 
terns. Thou wert always the soldier s friend, as well as 
the widow’s protector. Shade of the brave, forgive this 
poor apostrophe to thy memory! it is the only offering a 
soldier can present; he plants it as a flower upon the 
green turf that covers thy cold remains; may it take root, 
and its blossoms excite some abler florist to grace the spot 
with greater beauty. 

The only protection a poor soldier can offer to a woman 
suddenly bereft of her husband, far from her kinsfolk, and 
without a residence or home, would, under more favour¬ 
able circumstances, be considered as an insult, and perhaps 
under these, from the pressure of grief that actually weighs 
her down, be extremely indelicate. 

I make free to offer this remark, in justification of 
many a good woman, who in a few months, perhaps 
weeks, after her sudden bereavement, becomes the wife of 
a second husband; and although slightingly spoken of by 
some of little feeling, in and out of the army, yet this is 
perhaps the only alternative to save a lone innocent 
woman’s reputation; and the soldier who offers himself 
may be as little inclined to the connexion through any 
selfish motive, as the woman may be from any desire of 
his love, but the peculiar situation in which she is placed 
renders it necessary, without consulting false feelings, or 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


143 


regarding the idle remarks that may be made, to feel 
grateful for a protector, and in a soldier, the most binding 
is the surest. 

The sun gladdens again the face of the heavens, and 
throws his welcome rays over the field where the wreck 
of two armies lies uninterred. Thus we fall, cutting oft' 
and being cut off, the slayers but not the enemies of our 
race : look you to that, ye rulers of the earth !—we come 
but to obey. 

Here lie the turbulent and the obedient, the oppressor 
and the oppressed, and who can tell whither their spirits 
have fled! Do they soar in friendship, sink in hatred, 
separate for ever with their scorn and hatred ? or is every 
remembrance annihilated with the outpouring of their 
blood ? Ah! ye reasoning sceptics, rob us not of the 
future hope; it is our sheet-and lor, and your own best 
safeguard. 

c? 

That bright orb which now begins to warm our dew- 
moistened cheeks, moved on as unclouded in his career of 
yesterday as he promises to move to-day, regardless of 
the conflicting scenes of busy man, who falls without one 
mournful mark on nature’s face for his untimely fall. 
Though the strife of armies raged over those heights, and 
the blood of thousands was poured out, yet all above 
moved on in summer brightness, and apparently saw with¬ 
out regard a mighty empire cease to exist, in the person 
who had raised it to command half the world. 

Two nights we crowned the heights of Toulouse with 
our columns, and on the morning of the 12th we ad¬ 
vanced after the retreating foe, who had left the city in 
possession of Wellington. 





144 


RETROSPECT OF 


On the 15th the accounts of peace were made known 
to the army, and were received with every demonstration 
of joy. We now retraced our way, marched through 
Toulouse, so lately the scene of carnage, and took up our 
quarters about a league beyond it, at a large farm-house 
and extensive wine-store in which we had been quartered 
on the 3d and 4th of the same month, before crossing the 
Garonne; and as no movement was expected during that 
day, I obtained leave to return to Toulouse, in order to 
purchase some articles for the company to which I was 
attached. 

Having settled my affairs as speedily as possible at 
Toulouse, I made all haste to return to the regiment, but 
to my astonishment, on approaching the place which I 
had left echoing with the busy hum of a hundred voices, 
I found all hushed in solitary silence. I proceeded up 
the avenue, where the embers of the expiring fires smoked 
against the walls; not a soldier was to be seen at the 
house or in the field; at last, as I approached the door, I 
saw my wife in tears, sitting on my knapsack. My ap¬ 
pearance dispelled her grief, her heart leaped with joy, 
and, springing up, she embraced me. 

We had now to find out the place to which the regi¬ 
ment had proceeded; and after pursuing the supposed 
route till after sunset, without any certain information 
whether right or wrong, we came to a small village 
occupied by the 74th regiment, and from the men of 
that corps met with a very kindly reception, and made 
welcome to quarters during the night. Early next 
morning, as we were about to proceed in search of our 
own regiment, the sound of the bagpipe struck our ears, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


145 


and in a few minutes its Avelcome notes directed us to the 
regiment. 

We proceeded by short stages, some nights in camp 
and some in quarters, until we reached Audi, a consider¬ 
able town, beautifully situated on the face of a hill, over¬ 
looking the windings of the Gers. Vineyards, orchards, 
groves of olives and poplars, with hill and dale, diversify 
the face of this delightful country, and add greatly to the 
cheerful appearance of the comfortable farms and neat 
cottages which are thickly sprinkled over the rich uplands 
and surrounding valleys. 

Our attention was more taken up here with balls and 
carousals than with field exercise. I should gladly pass 
over those scenes of intemperance, were it not that a few 
remarks may be useful, in as much as they serve to record 
that they were not altogether approved of, even by those 
who were led to join in them. And, I must further add, 
although not in justification of our intemperance, that our 
thriftless improvidence was our own loss, and doubtless we 
afforded a sufficient subject for ridicule; but the only 
harm done was to ourselves, while the vintners of Audi 
gained considerably by our folly. 

Here our sergeants held their annual ball; this was a 
usage which had crept into the regiment after the battle 
of Alexandria in Egypt, perhaps at an earlier period, and 
if not laudable, was at least excusable, to keep in remem¬ 
brance the actions of our old companions. The celebra¬ 
tion of that event became sanctioned by custom. After 
the battle of Corunna, Egypt became only a secondary 
consideration, yet both days were admitted into the ca¬ 
lendar of the regiment. The storming of some outposts at 


o 



146 


RETROSPECT OP 


Burgos, in Spain, was also admitted. Time and circum¬ 
stances, this year, had prevented the celebration of the 
anniversaries of those actions being noticed at their usual 
time: we were now enjoying ease, and like the troops of 
Hannibal at Capua, we were inclined to indulge ourselves 
as far as opportunity served and our inclinations led. 

Our corporals followed the example set by the sergeants, 
the musicians that by the corporals, the drummers that of 
the musicians, and last, though not least, the officers’ ser¬ 
vants had a ball. Meantime the privates were not be¬ 
hind in paying their respects to the pleasures of the cup, 
for brandy was sold at the doors, and in the passages of 
our barracks, by strolling venders, for one penny a gill, 
and a quart of good wine was to be had at the wine- 
houses for threepence. 

These proceedings were put a stop to at last, and it 
was high time. What could appear more ridiculous than 
seeing sergeants, who, in all regiments, are or may be 
considered the select of the ranks for intelligence, tem¬ 
perance, and orderly behaviour, marching to their barracks 
about sunrising, preceded by a band of music attempting 
to play. This debasing exhibition concluded by our draw¬ 
ing up on the mall in front of the barrack, to show 
ourselves sober to the rest of the regiment, bv dancing a 
reel, to convince them we were so. It was something to 
the credit of the women, that they had retired before this 
public trial of sobriety or drunkenness took place. 

We are all unanimous, when we meet to resolve on 
how we are to act, in decrying this manner of commemo¬ 
rating the anniversary of a past achievement; but we 
want firmness to stand to our resolutions when we meet 


A MILITARY LIFE. 147 

for enjoyment: the voice of the gay confounds that of the 
grave; and when cheerfulness is the order of the day, no 
one has so much of the saint as to oppose the sinner. 
Therefore, I hesitate not to say, that the celebration of 
those anniversaries is a growing evil, the means of keeping 
up a system of dram-drinking and drunkenness, and 
should be put a stop to. 

We had only lain in Auch about five weeks, when we 
were ordered to proceed to Bourdeaux for embarkation. 
After resting one night at Valence and another at Con¬ 
dom, we came to Narac, a considerable town, pleasantly 
situated on the Baise, a small river, by means of which 
a navigable communication is open to the Garonne, 
thence to all the ports on that river, and its canals, from 
the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Narac seems to pos¬ 
sess a considerable trade; and although the buildings are 
inferior to those of Condom, the general appearance of 
comfort, cleanliness, and active industry of the inhabitants 
is in its favour, while the trade of Condom seems to be on 
the decline. 

Our regimental stores, consisting chiefly of spare cloth¬ 
ing which had been received before we left Auch, were 
put on board a vessel here, on purpose to lessen our land 
conveyance, and placed under my charge to Bourdeaux. 
The other regiments of the division that accompanied us 
on the line of march adopted the same plan, and ap¬ 
pointed suitable escorts. Thus, while the division conti¬ 
nued its route for Bourdeaux by land, the baggage and 
escorts, under the command of Lieutenant Ford of the 
79th, dropped down the Baise, the banks of which during 
the greater part of its course limited our view, until we 

o 2 






148 


RETROSPECT OF 


were wafted in upon the mighty current of the Garonne. 
Here a new scene opened all at once to our view. The 
country to our right had lain hid behind the trees and 
copses along the margin of the Baise, while the abrupt 
ascent of the left bank threw its shadow over the stream, 
and hid the setting sun from our view as we approached 
the conflux with the master stream, which seemed to 
chide its tributary’s lazy approach, and to suck our bark 
on to its more ample bosom. The beautiful country on 
the right bank of the Garonne now presented its gaily 
diversified vest, rich with vineyards, orchards, groves of 
olives, and fields of rising grain, while the princely man¬ 
sions and comfortable looking cottages reflected from a 
thousand windows the golden gleams of sun and skv. 
Our sudden debouchement upon the river, from between 
wood and willow-shaded banks, enhanced the beauty of 
the landscape at the conflux of the Baise ; for the country 
further down, on either side of the river to Bourdeaux, 
was either hid from our view by the banks, or presented 
no interesting scenery worth remarking; neither hill nor 
forest, pending rock or castellated tower, throws its sha¬ 
dow over the course of our solitary bark; no town or 
village, with its busy port, to attract our attention or ex¬ 
cite a wish to tread the drowsy shore. Two vessels were 
all the craft we met during the two days that our bark 
continued to speed her way downwards; and by the 
exertions required in working against the stream, we 
were led to conclude that the trade carried on by this 
channel was neither extensive nor profitable. About 
twenty men were employed in hauling one of the vessels 
forward, and about twelve were engaged with the other; 


149 


A MILITARY LIFE. 

for steam had not then been brought into use to give its 
powerful assistance to the mariner. But what tended 
not a little to impede their progress upwards, was the 
swollen state of the river, in consequence of recent rains, 
and perhaps the snow had not yet been entirely dissolved 
on the Pyrenees, from which it takes its rise. 

Soon after sunset, we put into a small cove on the right 
hank, where we lit a fire, cooked some meaty enjoyed a 
comfortable refreshment, and reposed in peace over our 
charge until morning, when we again held on our course. 

Past noon we again put into a creek on the left bank, 
where we were detained a few hours in consequence of 
some business which the master of the vessel had to 
transact in the neighbourhood. This circumstance af- 

<r> 

forded us time to light a fire and prepare some dinner. 

The sky, which had been heretofore cloudless, and the 
day excessively hot, began to appear gloomy; the master 
was inclined to remain there until next day, but all the 
passengers were anxious to proceed, and yielding to their 
solicitations, he set off with the falling tide. 

As evening approached, the clouds rose thicker on the 
horizon, and emitted vivid flashes of lightning. We were 
now within a league of Bourdeaux, darkness closing fast 
around us, and the stream bearing us rapidly along. The 
lightning became more vivid as we proceeded, and the 
thunder, which had been growling at a distance for some 
time, burst in astounding peals over our heads. 

We now approached the shipping on the river, with a 
receding tide; but so closely were we enveloped in dark¬ 
ness, that no object was visible around us, save that 
which the flashes of lightning suddenly opened to our 

o 3 


150 


RETROSPECT OF 


view; and the helmsman, either struck by the electric 
fluid or by terror, let go the tiller; the peal of thunder 
and rush of rain that instantly succeeded this occurrence 
excited considerable alarm on board, when, to add to our 
danger, our neglected helm no more guiding our vessel in 
safety down the stream, she bounded against the cable of 
a ship at anchor, reeled round, upsetting those who were 
standing, and a general shriek of distress burst spontane¬ 
ously from the female passengers on board: fortunately 
we cleared the fore part of the ship and ran under her 
chains, to which our people clung so effectually, that they 
succeeded, with the able assistance of the ship’s crew, in 
securing our charge alongside, where it remained until 
morning. 

Bourdeaux presents a line of buildings, fronting the 
Garonne, somewhat similar to that which Prince’s Street 
of Edinburgh presents to the valley called the North 
Loch; and though not so uniform in height and architec¬ 
ture, is no less attractive to the eye of a stranger, by its 
diversified appearance. But notwithstanding that Bour¬ 
deaux from the river bears a strong resemblance to the 
new town of Edinburgh from the North Loch, or, more 
properly speaking, from Prince’s Street Gardens, yet the 
objects on either side of the river are dull and insignificant 
when compared with our Modern Athens. No romantic 
height, such as Arthur’s Seat or Salisbury Crags, rises in 
its neighbourhood ; no proud elevation, such as the Calton 
Hill, crowned with monuments and lined with splendid 
edifices, shoots from its bosom; no gray rock, with its 
castellated battlements, like that on which Edinburgh 
Castle stands, looks down with frowning dignity on its 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


151 


busy streets; no piles of buildings, many stories high, 
similar to those of James’s Court, the Bank of Scotland, 
the Exchange, and many others, look over the river to 
Bourdeaux, as these do, in our northern metropolis, over 
the North Loch to Prince’s Street. In short, all the 
beauties which Bourdeaux can boast, and they are not 
few, rest on the same extensive plain with itself, and con¬ 
sist of its hospitals, markets, fountains, parks, and walks, 
and, above all, its majestic river. 

We disembarked near the ruins of an old fortification, 
close to the quay, and found within its walls what we 
then considered comfortable quarters. Comfortable only 
in comparison with what we had been accustomed to 
since we left England; for even here we had neither bed, 
nor furniture, nor kitchen utensils, but the lodgings were 
good and dry. Meantime the regiment performed its 
march by land, and encamped at Blanchford, about six 
miles below the city. 

Bourdeaux at this time exhibited a scene of great mer- 
cantile bustle; the opening of the port to British shipping 
and colonial produce, which had for a number of years 
been interdicted, invited an immense number of traders, 
while the demands of the army gave a stimulus to the 
agriculturist, the merchant, and the mechanic; in short, 
every class had occasion to rejoice at the change which 
had taken place by the restoration of the Bourbons. 

The Frenchman is not so intolerant a bigot as the Spa¬ 
niard. The latter seldom passes a chapel, an altar, or a 
cross (and they are without number in Spain), without 
uncovering his head and making the sign of the cross 
on his face, mouth, and breast; covering himself with 


152 


RETROSPECT OF 


this imaginary antidote to evil, he walks on full of his 
spiritual invulnerability. The Frenchman, on the other 
hand, though professing the same religion, walks on as 
regardless as a. Scotch Presbyterian. Whether this dis¬ 
regard to the church of Rome and its symbols of worship 
has been long existing in France, or only crept in during 
the revolutionary era, I know not; however, since the re¬ 
storation of the Bourbon dynasty, the clergy are zealously 
bent on bringing about a superficial display of religion. 

At the time we arrived at Bourdeaux, the clergy were 
assembling for some public occasion, and this afforded us 
an opportunity of witnessing one of those splendid pa¬ 
geants which in all countries exclusively professing the 
Catholic faith are held in the greatest respect, and looked 
upon with as much reverence as if the members which 
compose them were the delegates of heaven. 

On the day appointed, the processsion proceeded from 
one of the churches. A dignitary of the clergy walked 
beneath a splendidly embroidered canopy, supported by 
four bearers: before him was an altar resting on two 
sedan poles; in his hands the Host or consecrated wafer 
was held, and occasionally elevated; more than a hun¬ 
dred priests in superb vestments walked in procession. 
On each side of the altar were boys swinging, by silver 
chains, small silver censers with burning incense, while 
a number of children bedecked with gilded artificial 
wings, so as to represent cherubs, walked under the 
guidance of the religious in the procession. The streets, 
through which this imposing pageant passed, displayed a 
thousand devices from balconies, windows, doors, and 
house-tops. Altars were erected in different places, splen- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


153 


didly ornamented, each with its own patron saint dressed 
in very costly robes. An immense number of strangers, 
as well as the greater part of the inhabitants of the city, 
crowded to witness the spectacle; all uncovered as the 
Host passed, and not a few fell on their knees, while 
showers of rose-leaves, from ten thousand hands, dropped 
on the uncovered multitude below. 

The regiment lay encamped at Blanchford until the 
21st of June, when it embarked for Ireland. On the 
29th we cleared the mouth of the Garonne, spread all our 
canvas to the breeze, and soon lost sight of that land 
where we had left the bones of our bravest behind. 


154 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER XI. 

Sudden Death on beard.—Arrival at Cork.—March to Naas.—Over¬ 
bearing Conduct of an Assistant Serjeant-major.—Leave Naas.— 
Arrive at Kilkenny.—Arrears paid off.—Pay-Serjeants’ Manner of 
dealing.—Troublesome Duty imposed upon the Author.—Likely 
to get into a Scrape.—The Assistant Serjeant-major reduced.— 

The Second Battalion joins_Back Pay to Prisoners of War.— 

The Author sent on Detachment.—State of the Country.—False 
Ideas entertained regarding the Irish.—Superstitious Notions of 
the Country People.—The Monument.—Bad Barrack.—Obliging 

Priest and Parson. — Leave Tulleroan Suicide.—Embark for 

Ostend. 

We had been three days at sea, with delightful weather, 
all hearty and cheerful. The morning meal was in pre¬ 
paration, the decks were washed, our berths all cleaned, 
and the bedding airing in the freshening breeze. Some 
were employed fishing with hook and line, others wash¬ 
ing, some mending, and not a few smoking tobacco. 

One of our sergeants, named Warnock, apparently in 
health, asked from one of the smokers a whiff of his pipe ; 
it was given; but before the smoke passed twice from 
his mouth, he fell down a lifeless corpse. Medical aid 
was at hand, but Death had made sure of his mark, and 
the body was consigned to the ocean next day. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


155 


Warnock had been on the sick-list and absent from the 
regiment during the two last campaigns, and had joined 
us after the spilling of blood was over. Soldiers seldom 
admit that real sickness is the cause of one’s absence, and 
hesitate not to impute the absence to a desire of avoiding 
hard duty and field danger. Thus the absentee is con¬ 
sidered a scheming dissembler, and called a sconce , until 
death proves him no liar: then the common saying is, 
“ Poor fellow, after all, he has been ailing.” 

Our voyage, though somewhat protracted by calms, 
was very pleasant; and we arrived at Cork, in good 
health and high spirits, in the month of July. After 
being quartered in Cork barracks two weeks, we marched 
to Naas; thence, after another two weeks’ halt, we were 
ordered to Kilkenny. 

We paraded for the march by daybreak on the morn¬ 
ing of the 17th August, and the effects of the night’s 
orgies still played on the senses of those who had been 
led to indulge too freely in the parting cup with our 
countrymen of the Forfar Militia, then stationed at Naas. 
Among the number of the slightly inebriated was our 
assistant sergeant-major, an active, clever, obedient man 
when sober; but one of the most domineering, headstrong, 
irascible, insubordinate, provoking fellows, when drunk, 
that was in the regiment; in consequence of which he 
had been repeatedly reduced to the ranks, but his sup¬ 
posed qualifications as a drill brought him still forward. 
Having neglected to make arrangements in his detail for 
a rear-guard, he ordered me to turn out for that duty. 

It is not a justifiable point to remonstrate respecting 
turns of duty, but by the intemperate manner in which 1 


156 


RETROSPECT OF 


was commanded, I was led to question the propriety of 
being thus made the selected one, passing several others 
before me in the roster; and the usual apology of a sol - 
dier for shunning a troublesome duty passed my lips, by 
saying, “ It is not my turn.” “ How do you come to 
know that it is not your turn V he exclaimed: “ Who 
appointed you the regulator of the duty ? You had better 
take the command, Mr. Independence, as you are above 
complying with the orders of your superiors.” Thus he 
went on in a tirade of insulting and irritating abuse, 
without even permitting an interval for reply, as if i T £en- 
tionally, for the purpose of exciting to resistance, so as to 
constitute a crime; but I had been too long in the mili¬ 
tary school to commit myself by allowing my passion to 
operate against myself. Yet there are limits to patience, 
and perhaps I might have been forced beyond them, had 
not the timely call of the adjutant drawn off the insulter 
to answer regarding the disposal of some defaulters; and 
by the time he returned, he was less obstreperous, and I 
more yielding; for there is no advantage in the army by 
persisting in advocating right from wrong, when your 
opponent has it in his power to make the first unfavour¬ 
able report, and to poison the ear of the superior who is 
to decide. 

Indeed, no duty is more disagreeable than that of the 
rear-guard on the first day’s march of a route; acquaint¬ 
ances hanging on the men, causing them to quit their 
ranks, loiter behind, and get drunk, for which the non¬ 
commissioned officer in charge of the guard gets the 
blame. 

Our route was by Atliay and Carlow to Kilkenny, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


157 


where we arrived on the 19th August, and were quar¬ 
tered in it and its vicinity upwards of eight months. 
Here an order was issued for the payment of all arrears 
due to the regiment. This appeared to be a most Hercu¬ 
lean task to our pay-sergeants; for they had always a 
most decided aversion to paying money. The cause of 
this aversion was, that a most detestable practice had 
crept into the regiment (I may say into the army), of 
allowing the pay-sergeants to serve out shirts, shoes, and 
other necessaries, as the men required them: no matter 
though a man was a pound or two in debt, this made him 
the more certain customer of his sergeant. Shirts were 
charged at the rate of eight shillings, and a pair of shoes 
the same price; these articles were privately sold after¬ 
wards by the men at the rate of five shillings, sometimes 
less, and they found their way back to the sergeant again. 
By this means a shirt or a pair of shoes frequently passed 
twice or thrice through the sergeants hands in one day. 
It was therefore no wonder that he was backward in pay¬ 
ing money, when he had so much interest in withholding 
it. This led to a system among the men of selling their 
necessaries when it suited their convenience, and ulti¬ 
mately to drunkenness, crime, and punishment: for wo to 
the poor fellow who had the misfortune to sell out articles 
which had not originally come through the hands of his 
pay-sergeant; the full weight of the law fell on his 
shoulders. 

It may seem something extraordinary that this sort of 
dealing passed on without detection, or how the men did 
not complain of this sort of mercenary work to the officers 
in charge of companies. But this forbearance may be 

p 


RETROSPECT OF 


15 8 

ascribed to the general disposition of the men: they had 
been accustomed to this manner of dealing, they were satis¬ 
fied with the system, and grumbling constituted no part 
of their general character; besides, those who were most 
prone to this traffic were in debt, or at least considered 
so, when the full amount of their continental arrears was 
not to their credit, viz. six months’ pay to each rank, 
after deducting sixpence per day for rations. 

The time was now come when this was to be paid; 
and the general commanding in Kilkenny allowed us 
three days free of all public duty, in order to have all 
accounts settled and drink-devoted money expended. 

I here received upwards of twenty pounds sterling of 
arrears due to me; and if the officer commanding the 
company had not personally attended at the payment, it 
might have been the object of twenty instalments. 

I had applied for money to my pay-sergeant on our 
arrival at Cork, and met with evasions far from satisfac¬ 
tory. I complained to my officer, and from him to the 
colonel; for instead of six months’ arrears being due to 
me, there were more than ten months due. I had re¬ 
ceived nothing but rations, chargeable off my pay, from 
the day I left Portsmouth until we entered Cork. I had 
asked my pay-sergeant for money before leaving France, 
but met with an evasive answer. He had the effrontery 
to say, that when an order was given in June to pay off 
the arrears due on the preceding 24th January, that no 
man was considered in credit, at that period, unless he 
had six months’ arrears due at the back date which the 
order mentioned. That implied as much as to say, “ You 
had only five months’ arrears due to you on the 24th 


\ 


A MILITARY LIFE. 159 

January last, therefore you were one month’s in. debt at 
that period.” By such an opinion as this, I would have 
required to let my pay run on a twelvemonth before I 
would be in credit: I could not allow such reasoning to 
be just, and now, when I had occasion for money, I de¬ 
manded it. The colonel promised me redress, called for 
the pay-sergeant, who exonerated himself by stating that 
an order had been issued for completing the men with 
necessaries, and were he to pay the sum to which I was 
entitled, he could not comply with that order. The colo¬ 
nel promised to see further into the matter, and there it 
rested, for I made no more complaints. The case ap¬ 
peared so decidedly clear to me, that refusing to pay the 
amount due after deducting the six months’ arrears, to be 
left for a future payment, was nothing less than encou¬ 
raging a system of truckling, which ought to have been 
repressed. What had one soldier’s credit to do in cover¬ 
ing another’s debt, or why his pay have been withheld 
without his consent, evidently for the purpose of enabling 
a pay-sergeant to purchase shirts, shoes, &c. for men al¬ 
ready in debt, and that he might have the benefit of turn- 
inof the arrears to his own account, in the event of the 
creditor’s sudden death ? 

In laying open this system of corruption, in the interior 
economy of the regiment, I am far from offering an ex¬ 
aggerated statement, as I am certain it will meet with a 
ready corroboration from every soldier who was then in 
the regiment; and although I thus limit my observation, 
I might add, the system was not confined to one regiment, 
it was pretty general in the army. 

I shall state one instance that came under my observa- 

p 2 


160 


RETROSPECT OF 


tion, when the regiment was quartered in Auch. A regi¬ 
mental order was issued about the 30th April, desiring the 
arrears due to the men on the preceding 24tli October to 
be paid off: this left the arrears of the six following 
months, namely, from November to April inclusive, still 
to their credit. The pay-sergeants had complied with 
this order, with the exception of two or three, who found 
some excuse for protracting the payment of individuals. 
I happened to be in the room of one of those cashiers 
when one of the men not settled with entered and civilly 
asked the sum to which he w T as entitled; this was refused : 
he then begged to have five shillings, until such time as 
it would be convenient to let him have the balance. This 
was also refused; the man was naturally led to offer rea¬ 
sons for pressing the request; but the other repulsively 
ordered him off, and shut the door contemptuously at 
his heels as he retired. The soldier, when thus turned 
off, went immediately to the officer commanding his com¬ 
pany, and from him met with a more kindly reception; 
he sent him back to get the sum demanded. I had not 
left the sergeant’s room, when the man re-entered and 
reported the result of his application; but this was of no 
consequence, he was as peremptorily ordered off as he had 
been before; and as he left the apartment in sullen silence, 
the sergeant exultingly exclaimed, “ I’ll be d—d but he 
shall call me sir and gentleman, before he gets a sin o le 
chovy.” * 

This manner of repulsing a soldier, when civilly and 
respectfully asking that to which he had a right, was un- 


* A small Portuguese coin, about the size of a farthing. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


161 


usual, and could not fail to excite vindictive feelings; and 
I am certain there was not another sergeant in the regi¬ 
ment who would have acted in such a manner. To do the 
pay-sergeants justice, although they wanted to make the 
best of the money that they could, they were not repulsive. 
But this one was an exception : he was the adjutant’s clerk, 
of whom I have already had occasion to take notice, and 
perhaps may again, in the course of this narrative. 

From witnessing this, and other neglected applications 
for money, T forbore soliciting any from the time I joined 
the battalion until my arrival at Cork, where I made 
the application just mentioned. Our weekly pay, how¬ 
ever, was regularly issued after this, conformably to the 
regulations for home service. Such were the good old 
times, when complaints were seldom made, and when 
made, not regarded. 

The three days’ indulgence, granted by General Gor¬ 
don, opened a bright prospect for the publicans of Kil¬ 
kenny. The 36th regiment and the Somerset Militia 
performed the garrison duties. Our barrack-guard was 
the only duty imposed upon us; and I, equally as unfor¬ 
tunate on this occasion as on leaving Naas, was pitched 
upon for the first day’s duty, notwithstanding that there 
were eight before me on the roster. Like many more 
grumbling wights, I remonstrated, but to no effect; some 
were pay-sergeants, and the sobriety of some others was 
questionable. These were sufficient reasons, and some¬ 
what satisfactory, so far as concerned myself; for perhaps 
there are few soldiers but have a little pride in being re¬ 
garded by their superiors as capable of discharging a 
difficult or troublesome duty. 


p 3 


162 


RETROSPECT OF 


I was granted a supernumerary, or an assistant, on 
purpose to aid me in repressing drunken broils, and so 
far as possible keep the guard sober ; his name was Ro¬ 
bert May, a good sort of a careless tippling old soldier 
who had been lately appointed sergeant. I thus had the 
name of an assistant, but in fact got none of his assist¬ 
ance. The men who mounted guard, however, w r ere con¬ 
sidered the least intemperate of the regiment; yet there 
are times when the most rigidly abstemious will lose sight 
of themselves by suffering the overflowing cup of inten¬ 
tional kindness to approach their lips, and yielding to the 
pressing invitations of cheerful companions, participate in 
the prevailing conviviality; and I regret that some of my 
guard so far lost sight of their duty as to get themselves 
insensibly inebriated. I shall offer no excuse for having 
confined them as prisoners. He who is entrusted with a 
duty, if he fail to perform it, must stand to the conse¬ 
quences ; and he who is entrusted with a command which 
he cannot enforce, is undeserving of it: their place was 
supplied by others. Five times successively the guard- 
room and its adjoining dark closet were filled with noisy 
turbulent prisoners, and as often ejected and sent to their 
barracks, released through the kind interposition of the 
adjutant, in consequence of the crowded state of the 
guard-house. 

It is a well known duty in the army, that every officer 
and non-commissioned officer in the command of a guard, 
is enjoined to visit the sentries frequently by day and by 
night, and in his report he must state having done so. In 
compliance with this regulation, I went to visit the sen¬ 
tries posted in rear of the barrack after sunset. This w r as 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


163 


a considerable round at tliat time. I left May to answer 
for the guard until I should return. I'had no sooner de¬ 
parted, however, than he withdrew to one of the neigh¬ 
bouring ale-houses. Meanwhile the visiting officers for 
the day (Captain M‘Intosh and Lieutenant Nicholson) 
made their call, and there was no sergeant to answer for 
the guard. The sergeant-major was called and ordered to 
place me under arrest; luckily he could find no one to 
replace me. As for May, there was no more notice taken 
of his absence than although he had had no occasion to 
be present. 

The captain lodged in a house which I had to pass in 
returning to my guard; I saw him and the subaltern 
enter it, but little did I surmise that I had occasion to 
report to them what I -was about; the sergeant-major, 
however, having got notice where I was, met me, told me 
what had passed, and permitted me to call on the captain 
on purpose to exculpate myself. My excuse was fully 
admitted, and I was dismissed with a caution not to leave 
my guard in charge of another until relieved. 

I certainly had reason to feel thankful to the sergeant- 
major for permitting me to exonerate myself before my 
arrest was reported to the commanding-officer; for he 
could have been justified in denying access to the captain. 

I think it is proper to suggest to those who have the 
arrangements of public or regimental duties, to make 
every non-commissioned officer take whatever duty may 
present itself, in his proper turn, unless he be recently 
appointed and the duty apparently difficult. All cases 
where exemptions are made in consequence of intemper¬ 
ance, imbecility, or the like, should be considered as an 


164 


RETROSPECT OF 


imposition on the service. Why indulge men given to 
intemperance hy exemptions ? why permit imbeciles to 
hold the very lowest situation of command over a soldier 
in the army ? If such characters have hy chance crept or 
leaped into place, by cringing sycophancy, mean, dangling 
servility, or otherwise, let them be hazarded with the duty 
which they have considered themselves qualified to per¬ 
form ; if they fail, their places can he filled up, and the 
service sustain no loss by the degradation of those who 
are incapable of performing it, or 'who incite others to 
trespass instead of preventing them. 

The three days passed over, and the regiment resumed 
its public duties in the garrison. I may remark, that our 
intemperate assistant sergeant-major, who acted rather 
uncivilly towards me on leaving Naas, was very deservedly 
reduced to the ranks at this time. 

We were joined in this place by the second battalion of 
the regiment, which was incorporated with ours, and we 
now formed one battalion. Among the men who joined 
were a considerable number who had been taken prisoners 
of war by the enemy on the different retrograde move¬ 
ments of the army in the Peninsula, all of whom laid 
claim to their pay during the time they had been in 
durance, as well as for compensation for loss of knapsacks 
and necessaries, all of which claims were sustained, and 
afterwards paid. 

It may not be improper to question how far claims of 
this kind ought to he admitted. Men who have been 
wounded and left on the field, or in hospital, and aban- 
% doned to the mercy of the enemy; men who have been 
placed in charge of posts in rear of the army, for the pur- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


165 

pose of checking the enemy’s advance, defend their posts 
until forced to yield to overwhelming numbers, deserve 
the best regard of their country, and cannot be too well 
rewarded; they deserve more than their pay, for they 
have been cut off from the common enjoyments of a sol¬ 
dier’s freedom, limited though it be; from every expecta¬ 
tion of rising in the service; and all this to enable their 
more fortunate companions to have the satisfaction of 
enjoying those appreciated chances. But certainly those 
who fall into the hands of the enemy through their own 
negligence, stubbornness, or intemperance, ought to feel 
deeply the effect of their past mis-service, and of their 
country’s displeasure afterwards, for having served it so 
unfaithfully. 

A considerable number of detachments are furnished 
from the garrison of Kilkenny to the different villages and 
hamlets throughout the surrounding district, and the regi¬ 
ment having been upwards of four months without being 
called upon to take any of these detached duties, was now - 
ordered to relieve the different parties of the 83d regi¬ 
ment, which composed part of the garrison. 

I was sent in command of a small party to Tulleroan, 
an inconsiderable group of mud cabins and low thatched 
houses, about six miles from Kilkenny. The unfavour¬ 
able report we had received regarding the disaffected 
turbulent disposition of the inhabitants, caused us to re¬ 
ceive their congratulations on our arrival with repulsive 
sulkiness; they were poor, and we considered them intru¬ 
sive when they approached the door of our little smoky 
dark hole of a barrack; and all their generous offers of 
disinterested service were indignantly refused. 


166 


RETROSPECT OP 


I really cannot look back upon that part of my con¬ 
duct with any degree of satisfaction ; yet I was only act¬ 
ing up to received instructions. Had I and my party 
continued to conduct ourselves in the same repulsive 
manner in which we had commenced with our neigh¬ 
bours, we might have had just occasion, on leaving the 
place, to give a different account of their behaviour to¬ 
wards us than we now do. Indeed, they could have been 
submitted to very little inconvenience or trouble by our 
indifference or contempt, but we must have felt theirs 
considerably, as every article of provisions had to be 
procured through their agency, otherwise the party must 
have been weakened and the men harassed by sending 
three or four off, every second or third day, to Kilkenny 
to make purchases; and in this there was no small chance 
of hazarding the sobriety of the men to irresistible temp¬ 
tations among those who were doing duty in that town. 
Our kind neighbours, however, prevented, in a great 
degree, the necessity of sending to a distance for our 
supplies. 

Two constables were attached to our party, relieving 
each other alternately, once every two weeks, so that one 
only remained at the barrack: from both we received an 
exaggerated account of the state of the public feeling 
around us. One, in particular, was always sounding the 
tocsin of alarm in our ears. A party of Whiteboys , Sha- 
navites , Caravitcs , or Carders * had been seen in such a 
direction, several shots had been heard in another, yet no 
one came forward as the seer or the hearer; all was ver- 

* Names assumed by certain parties associated for obtaining local 
reforms, chiefly Agrarian. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


167 


bal report, through a long transmission from one credulous 
person to another, until it reached the constable, and a 
report had to he forwarded to the magistrate; in conse¬ 
quence of which a party was ordered out towards the 
reported place of alarm, on purpose to ascertain the cer¬ 
tainty or cause ; and after patrolling the country for miles, 
disturbing the peaceable and causing alarm, it returned 
satisfied that the report was founded in falsehood, and 
that no cause existed to suspect that the people had been 
otherwise employed than in their usual domestic or agri¬ 
cultural pursuits. 

' I must here remark, that there is rather a false idea 
abroad respecting “ Irish barbarism,” as it is called. In 
no two countries of the world do the manners and cus¬ 
toms of the rural population resemble each other more 
closely, perhaps, than that of the Highlands of Scotland 
and that of Ireland. There is not a man from the north 
or west Highlands, and who had been a resident there 
forty or fifty years ago, hut will acknowledge that nothing 
was more rare than to hear of a country fair having passed 
over without bloodshed or broken bones. I perfectly re¬ 
collect hearing, when I was a hoy, the people asking at 
those who were returning from the fairs of Keith, Glass, 
Auchindore, Sliach, &c., “ Well, wis thir ony feghts at 
the market the day ?” (or yesterday). If the reply was in 
the affirmative, the questioner rubbed his hands, scratched 
his shoulder or elbow, itching with delight, saying, “ Ha! 
that's a sign o’ gude times, we’ll get cheap meal this year.” 
But if the reply was in the negative, then no joy was ex¬ 
pressed ; on the contrary, there was some remark about 
hard times, or “ Gude auld times,” adding, “ Fouk’s get- 


168 


RETROSPECT OF 


tin o’er wise now-o’-days, God help us, the auld spirits 
broken down,” and such like observations. And the 
questioner, in his fretfulness at being deprived of the 
news of a fight, would exclaim, “ Fare w r is the Goulds 
fan ther wis nae feghtin’ at Glass ?” or “ Fare wis the 
Barclays fan ther wis nae feghtin’ at Sliacli ?” and such 
like questions. This is still the case in Ireland, at least 
among the rural population; there are certain family 
names, noted for club-law, in the neighbourhood. But 
there is this difference : in Scotland we had no peace-pre¬ 
servers to raise a “ hue and cry” of murder when there 
was no lives lost; cuts and bumps were thought nothing 
of, and gave no alarm; but in Ireland it is the very re¬ 
verse ; the numerous tribe of attorneys are looking out for 
work: blood is murder, knocking down or tripping over 
is killing; and the report appears next day, in some 
neighbouring newspaper, headed “ Barbarous Murder, 
Shocking Outrage, Dreadful Barbarity, &c. &c.,” detail¬ 
ing the cause and consequence of the quarrel, appealing 
to the injured and insulted feelings of the nation in gene¬ 
ral. But remark, the reporter most likely is one of our 
peace-preservers, and the report closes by giving great 
praise to Mr. So-and-so, with his constabulary force, w r ho 
succeeded in suppressing the riot at great personal risk, 
and in having lodged the principal aggressors in jail. 
Perhaps the article states further: “We regret to hear 
that one or two of the constable’s fusils went off in the 
affray, whereby one or two men w r ere slightly wounded.” 
Perhaps the constables have got their clothes torn, a fusil 
broken, or some personal bruise or contusion ; all or any 
of which form pleas for criminal prosecutions, and bur- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


169 


dening the country with oppressive local taxes, and not a 
life lost after all the clamour, save that of some out¬ 
rageous vagabond, who thus deprives the gallows of its 
due and the lawyer of his fee. 

Nothing is more certain, than that the country was in 
a perfectly peaceable state, with regard to constitutional 
allegiance. There were local associations of a secret na¬ 
ture, but they were more for controlling what the different 
parties considered local oppression than government au¬ 
thority ; and every individual in our neighbourhood vied 
with each other in little acts of kindness and a willingness 
to be serviceable to the party. Were we scarce of fuel, 
they would freely lend us until a supply could be ob¬ 
tained ; if provisions were short, they would find some 
person to supply us; in fine, our ill-natured manner of 
receiving their welcome, when we first came among 
them, did not excite their ill-will towards us; they had 
been used to such ungenerous treatment. We were not a 
little annoyed, however, during the first four weeks of our 
lodgement, by a crowd of country-people congregating 
about our door, on Sundays and holidays, and even step¬ 
ping in, some to warm themselves, and some to light their 
pipes, without any bad intention; but as every thing re¬ 
garding them had been represented in the worst light, we 
should have been acting very unguardedly had we not been 
ready to meet danger, without manifesting a fear of it. 
But to prevent it was better; and by an easy representa¬ 
tion of my wish to some of our neighbours, I found our 
barrack become less an object of public curiosity. 

Among the readiest of those people to serve us was 
Ned Magrath, an honest, hardy, industrious brogue-maker. 

Q 


170 


RETROSPECT OF 


This man was ready to serve us on all emergencies; and 
w r e certainly had not a few wants. Placed as we then 
were, so remote from the market from which we drew 
our supplies, in the depth of winter, and having no con¬ 
tract for provisions with any person, our supplies were 
irregular, and sometimes very limited, waiting for chance 
conveyances. 

After we had lain a few weeks in this place, a heavy 
fall of snow covered the face of the country to a consider¬ 
able depth, in drifted wreaths, which closed up the roads 
and prevented us getting fuel. Magrath, after making 
every inquiry in the neighbourhood to procure us some, 
but without effect, had recourse to an expedient which, 
though not uncommon in that place, was new to us. 
Having procured for us about two bushels of coal-dust, or 
culm, he w r ent to a place where clay was to be had, 
cleared off the snow, and dug up a quantity sufficient to 
mix with the culm; this we brought to the barrack, and 
after pounding the two together until thoroughly mixed, 
made up into balls the size of six-pound shot: these, when 
dried, made a strong durable fire. 

This supply, however, failed; the snow continued longer 
than usual to obstruct the roads, and the people, not ac¬ 
customed to lay up a store for the winter, were in want 
themselves, and under the necessity of gathering the 
withered sprigs along the sides of hedges and plantations. 
In this emergency we were again supplied by our inde¬ 
fatigable neighbour, but by means of which popular super¬ 
stition forbade him taking advantage on his own account. 

The limb of a large hawthorn-tree, designated the mo¬ 
nument , had been cast down by a storm, some years 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


171 


previous to our arrival, and although in its prostrate state 
a useless incumbrance on the field, yet popular supersti¬ 
tion had rendered it so far sacred that neither man nor 
woman would presume to lop off one of its decayed 
branches. This was pointed out as offering itself to our 
hands; but as we had a verbal agreement with the poor 
landlord of the barrack to provide us with fuel, we had no 
desire to trespass on the local prejudices of the people in 
supplying ourselves, until his exertions to furnish us 
ceased to be effective; we were then under the necessity 
of doing something for ourselves; for he was so poor that 
the neighbours trusted more to our paying in money for 
what they lent us on his account than to his repaying in 
kind. In the mean time, we made particular inquiry 
concerning this tree, and what entitled it to the name of 
monument and the regard shown towards it, lest we 
should by a premature seizure incur the ill-will of the 
inhabitants. 

In the vicinity of Tulleroan are several thorn trees, de¬ 
signated monuments; each has some superstitious legend 
attached to its notoriety in the traditionary tales of the 
Tulleroans. One of these monuments stands on the right 
side of the road, where it is crossed by the burn of Kil- 
managli, and is famed for being a metamorphosed trooper, 
who was thus transformed by a rebel priest. The latter 
had been in concealment for some time, my informant 
says, “ invisible,” but he happened to be observed by this 
trooper, and was about being made prisoner, when by the 
power of the holy God, and the intercession of the ever 
blessed Virgin, the priest transformed the trooper into a 
tree. He had no sooner wrought this miracle than he was 

q2 


172 


RETROSPECT OF 


surprised by another straggler of the same troop, and was 
about being made prisoner again, but the man of God 
convinced the captor that he must have been born and 
baptized within the pale of the holy Roman Catholic 
church, otherwise he could not have discovered his mate¬ 
riality, as he had been invisible to all the other troopers 
who had passed, with the exception of the one who now 
stood before him transformed into this dwarfish tree. The 
astonished trooper is said to have acknowledged the truth 
of what the priest said, suffered him to escape, and be¬ 
came a living witness to the transformation. 

That which gave celebrity to the one devoted to warm 
our winter hearth, was possessed of no less interest, and 
may be depended upon as being as certain as the other. 
This tree stood in the middle of a small enclosure, oppo¬ 
site a farm-house, a few perches beyond the chapel, and 
once consisted of two limbs, forking from the trunk, some 
feet from the ground. I shall pretermit giving the fabul¬ 
ous and conflicting accounts of the cause of its original 
claim to veneration, and mention a circumstance which is 
held as authentic by the oldest inhabitants of the place. 

A remarkably severe snow-storm and close winter, per¬ 
haps worse than that which we were experiencing, had 
occasioned the scanty store of fuel in the neighbourhood 
to be consumed, and the farmer on whose ground the tree 
stood, not paying so much regard to its sanctity as to his 
family comforts, resolved to apply some of its exuberant 
branches to domestic use. The hatchet was raised to 
strike, when he descried one of the ricks in his haggard 
on fire: casting his hatchet aside, he ran towards the 
farm, but on passing the sacred circle of the tree, he per- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


173 


ceived all as settled, as calm, as cold, as smokeless, and 
comfortless around his dwelling as when he left it. Asto- 
nislied at the strange deception, he returned on purpose to 
execute the work he had been about to commence. A 
second time the same wonderful appearance astonished 
him; the hatchet was still erect in his hands, and he saw 
the flames spreading from the haggard to his dwelling- 
house : throwing down the hatchet, he flew to save his 
family, but as he approached the phantasm disappeared, 
and all around assumed its cold and cheerless aspect. 
Ashamed to return empty-handed to his cold hearth, he 
again resolved to benefit himself by a few branches, be 
the consequences what they would. It is not certain 
whether he directed his eye this time towards his pre¬ 
mises or only to the bough of the tree, which he struck 
with the axe, but at the first blow a splinter of the wood 
struck out one of his eyes and obliged him to desist from 
his sacrilegious enterprise; and from that time the tree 
was regarded more sacredly than ever, until nearly a cen¬ 
tury had passed away, when one of the limbs was torn 
by a violent storm from the decaying trunk, cast to the 
ground, and lay a useless encumbrance, yet still possessed 
of so much importance from the above incident as to deter 
the inhabitants from meddling with it. 

An object held sacred by any class of people ought to 
be approached with respect, even by a stranger, let his 
opinions be ever so different from those of its worshippers. 
He who smites a priest on the right cheek, may smite 
the left also and be forgiven ; but to scoff at the idol which 
the priest adores, is the sin which will never be forgiven 
by the worshippers of that idol. 

q3 


174 


RETROSPECT OF 


My party were a set of young fellows who felt it no de¬ 
gradation to make themselves as comfortable within doors 
as possible, and, without doubt, they were more success¬ 
ful gleaners and nibblers along the hedge-sides than the 
poor infirm creatures, who were frequently thankful to us 
for permission to boil or roast a few potatoes at our fire; 
and we had no reason to doubt but our success in that 
particular inclined them to direct our attention to the 
object which Magrath had pointed out to us. 

Thus, all willing to promote our comfort, we applied to 
the superintending magistrate, Mr. Barton, from whom 
we met with no direct refusal; and we soon cleared the 
ground of its useless cover, and supplied ourselves with a 
fortnight’s fuel. 

Indeed, I should not wonder although this achievement 
were by this time blended with the history of the remain¬ 
ing branch. Perhaps it will be said that the genius of 
the tree rested not until a victim fell to its wrath, and 
that one of the party afterwards returned and shot him¬ 
self. 

The place which we occupied as a barrack was perhaps 
as good as could be obtained; however, it was but a 
smoky, worthless, low mud-cabin, admitting the rain or 
melting snow through its ill-thatched roof, and the water 
through its insecure foundation. Before the door ran a 
small streamlet, the receptacle of all the dirty water from 
the different cabins, stalls, and styes of the whole hamlet 
on that side of the road; but of this we had no great cause 
to complain, as the rains and thaws, which were frequent 
during our sojourn, carried off all impurities, although 
occasionally overflowing to our worn down threshold. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


Poor as Tnllcroan was, we left it with regret: to the 
people at large we owe our best wishes, and that we car¬ 
ried with us a share of theirs we have no cause to doubt. 
And thou, the reverend coadjutor of the parish priest, 
wert not remiss in encouraging that spirit of good-will 
which sprung up after our arrival and continued increasing 
until we departed. From thy hands we received such 
books* as made the long winter nights pass pleasantly 
away; thy good sense made thee forbear to offer us vo¬ 
lumes of divinity, thou gavest us therefore what some 
would have called “ the not needfulbut thou didst give 
us the truly acceptable, and I trust we are no further 
from the door of grace yet, than if thou hadst loaded our 
table with all the works of the holy fathers of thy church. 
Permit me, in the name of all who survive of that party, 
to express our gratitude for thy kindness. And were my 
thanks worthy of acceptance, they ought not to be the 
last of beino- offered to thee, our reverend curate of Kil- 
managh; often hast thou visited our little smoky barrack, 
called our attention to thy divine exhortations, kneeled 
down amongst us, and offered up thy prayers to heaven 
for our happiness. Ah ! Mr. Cauldfield, we who kneeled 
around thee had much need of thy intercession to Heaven 
in our behalf: the religious tracts with which thou hast 
unsparingly furnished us are but seldom read, and we are 
all too much of the careless cast to be really sincere in 
our devotions; yet we know thy zeal for our spiritual 
welfare, and if thy ministry has been uselessly cast away 

* The priest had the kindness to lend us Goldsmith’s Works, His¬ 
tory, «Scc. The book-reading man was so seldom gratified with the loan 
of a book, that, when offered, it was considered a great compliment. 




176 


RETROSPECT OF 


upon some, we hope it has had a good effect upon others; 
and wherever the fortune of war leads us, we shall grate¬ 
fully keep in remembrance thy kindly visits and well- 
intentioned instructions. 

We left Tulleroan, on the 22d of April, for Kilkenny, 
from which we again marched, on the 27th, for Cork, to 
embark for the continent. 

During the time we had been at Tulleroan, one of the 
party became acquainted with a young woman witli 
whom he fell in love, and he fancied that she loved him. 
She was a servant in a public-house, to which his visits, 
before leaving that place, had been too frequently made, 
and he was about being sent off from the party to head¬ 
quarters, when the unexpected route called off the whole. 
This unfortunate man had been for several years a prisoner 
of war, and whatever might have been his habits before 
lie was taken prisoner, I cannot say, but he certainly 
returned a very dissipated character; and having received 
a considerable amount of back pay, or prison-money, as it 
was called, he was enabled to visit the ale-house as often 
as the barrack, and when the pot was before him, he was 
always in love with the filler of it. Having left Tulleroan 
without declaring his love to the young woman, or at 
least without her acknowledging her regard for him, he 
left his company as it marched out of Kilkenny, went to 
Tulleroan without leave, and having been disappointed in 
his expected interview, shot himself in the vicinity of that 
place. 

On our arrival at Cork, no time was lost in preparing 
for active service; all our old and apparently debilitated 
hands were invalided and left behind; four women to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 177 

each company were permitted to accompany us, and the 
rest were sent to their respective homes or parishes. 

We embarked at the Cove, 4th May, 1815, and pro¬ 
ceeded with a fair wind for Ostend. We were not so 
fortunate as we had been on former voyages with respect 
to the weather, for we had a very stormy passage until 
we passed Plymouth, the hatches being frequently fast¬ 
ened down to prevent the waves, which were washing 
over the decks, from filling the hold; and one of our 
transports had to take shelter in Milford Haven, where 
she lay about a week: it was our better fortune to dash 
through the billows until we reached Ostend. 









178 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER XII. 

Arrival at Ostend, and Cause of our sudden Call to the Netherlands. 

_Twenty Women of the Regiment ordered to be sent back.— 

Ghent.—The Women detained at Ostend arrive at Ghent and are 

sent back_Observations with regard to the proriding for Women 

when left at Home.—Brussels_Selling Blankets and Punish¬ 

ment. — Alarm at Brussels. — Grand Ball. — Prepare to leave 
Brussels.—March to Quatre Bras.—Engagement.—Giraud’s Ac¬ 
count of the Action.—Observations_Loss of the Regiment at 

Quatre Bras.—Bivouac_Apostrophe. 

Nothing could appear more astonishing to us, coining 
directly from the land of rocks and mountains, than 
when we disembarked on the dike or hank which seems 
to keep back the ocean, and looked down on the far ex¬ 
tended plain below, where neither rock nor mountain 
presented itself as a refuge for the inhabitants from the 
threatening billows that seem to rise above the land 
and beat against the apparently artificial barrier. Peace 
had given us only a few months’ repose in the arms of 
our country, when we were thus hastily and unexpectedly 
called hither to oppose the rebel forces of the great Napo¬ 
leon, who, rushing from his exile at Elba to the eastern 
shores of his lately abdicated empire, struck the world 
with astonishment. France hailed him back with all its 
wild enthusiastic pride of military fame. His former 


179 


A MILITARY LIFE. 

companions in arms crowded to his standard, and from 
the Pyrenees to the Alps, from the Mediterranean to the 
Atlantic, all were in motion. He advanced in the pride 
of power, and seized without a struggle the throne and 
crown of a long dynasty of kings. 

The sovereigns of Europe beheld with astonishment . 
this man of boundless ambition, with whom no obliga¬ 
tions were binding, no oaths sacred, and no promises re¬ 
garded that interfered with his personal interest, and, 
rising up in their wrath, poured forth their armies like 

overwhelming streams to oppose his yet unconsolidated 

# 

power. 

Britain roused her soldiers from their peaceful slumbers, 
and sent them forth as the first of Europe’s sons to prove 
their arms on the extensive plains of the Netherlands; and 
she sent, as their leader, as brave a general as ever drew 
a sword, and as fortunate as ever fought a battle; in him 
the troops put every trust, and in their bravery he placed 
implicit confidence. 

I have already mentioned, that on leaving Ireland, four 
women had been permitted to follow each company of 
the regiment, and accommodation on board ship afforded 
them to Ostend. We had now disembarked, and boats 
lay on the canal ready to convey us into the interior of 
the country ; but as we were stepping on board, an order 
was received, importing that only two women would be 
allowed to proceed with each company. This was a 
great disappointment, and no small cause of grief to those 
who had to return without any preparation for such an 
unexpected separation, or any provision but that which 
the liberality of their country might allow, or the hand of 




180 


RETROSPECT OP 


charity present, to carry them to their distant home. 
Those who had gotten on board of the boats waiting for 
our conveyance were turned out, notwithstanding their 
sighs and tears, given in charge to a guard, and quartered 
in a barrack at Ostend. Meanwhile we moved slowly up 
the canal, and left the poor weeping women behind to 
form their future plans of proceeding, and make arrange¬ 
ments for following the fortunes of their husbands. 

Our hearts not being of the softest kind, soon lost the 
momentary impression of grief that had been made by 
the late affecting scene, and we approached Bruges as 
cheerful as if nothing of the kind had occurred, with the 
exception of the few sorrowing husbands whose wives 
had been detained. 

The country, from Ostend to Bruges, is one extensive 
plain; from Bruges to Ghent a few undulations may be 
seen. The banks of the canal are lined with stately trees, 
which afford an agreeable shade to the passenger, and 
give a charming effect to the otherwise unvaried course 
on which we were proceeding. 

Ghent bursts on our view as we emerge from the dark 
grove of elms and approach the crowded quay. We dis¬ 
embark, enter the city, receive billets on the most re¬ 
spectable inhabitants, and meet with a cordial reception. 

Several days elapsed before the rest of the regiment ar¬ 
rived ; storms and contrary winds had forced them into 
Milford Haven, as I have already mentioned, and report 
had given them up for lost; but better fortune favoured 
them, and they arrived all safe, and were quartered in 
this wealthy, hospitable city. Indeed, no words can do 
justice to the kindly manner in which we were treated 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


181 


we were invited to sit at the same table with our land¬ 
lord; coffee was offered to us early in the morning; 
breakfast, dinner, and even a supper, was prepared for 
us with no less attention than if we had been kinsmen 
visiting the family. In short, had we continued a few 
months in this place, we might have forgotten that we 
were soldiers, and the inhabitants must have considered 
us burdensome. 

We had been only two days in Ghent, when the 
women left at Ostend found their way to the regiment; 
they were again conveyed back to the same place from 
which they escaped, and there closely watched; yet in a 
week or two they eluded the vigilance of the sentries and 
joined their husbands once more, and as no official reports 
were made to their prejudice, they followed the fortunes 
of their husbands during the campaign, along with those 
who boasted the privilege. 

It may not be improper to remark, that on all occasions 
of troops being despatched to the scene of expected hosti¬ 
lities, women should not be permitted to accompany 
them. If an exception is made in one single instance, it 
only gives room for pressing and almost irresistible appli¬ 
cations from others, and throws the performance of a very 
painful duty, namely, refusing permission, on the offi¬ 
cers commanding companies. Every private soldier con¬ 
ceives that he has as good a right to this indulgence for 
his w ife as the first non-commissioned officer in the regi¬ 
ment, and certainly he is right; she will prove much 
more useful than one who, instead of being serviceable, 
considers herself entitled to be served, assumes the conse¬ 
quence of a lady without any of the good qualifications or 

R 



182 


RETROSPECT OP 


accomplishments of one, and helps to embitter the do¬ 
mestic enjoyments of others by exciting petty jealousies 
that otherwise would never exist. 

It is generally the case, in selecting women to follow 
the army to a foreion station, that choice is made of those 
without children, as they are considered more capable of 
performing the services that may be required of them than 
those encumbered with a family; this, though just as re¬ 
gards our wants, is not so with respect to many a well¬ 
deserving woman, who is thus cast on the public or left to 
her own exertions, which too often fail her in the endea¬ 
vour to support herself and children, while the childless 
woman is selected to profit from that circumstance. 

I am no great theorist, but I am certain that much 
might be done to obviate the necessity of soldiers’ wives 
being burdensome to the public, by adopting proper 
means for their support. * Why should not the soldier 
contribute part of his pay towards the maintenance of his 
family at home ? In fact, it ought to be stipulated that he 


* A woman who is permitted to accompany her husband receives a 
half ration free ; a child above seven years, one-third ; and one under 
seven years, a quarter of a ration ; and although this is but a very 
trifling allowance, would it not be much better to give it to those of 
good character who are not permitted to accompany their husbands ? 
I must also remark, that on foreign stations, where this allowance is 
made to the women and children, it will be found that the least neces¬ 
sitous are the first to apply, and the first to be placed on this benevo¬ 
lent list. I have seen privates 1 wives, with three or more children, 
without rations ; while the wives and children of sergeant-majors and 
quartermaster-sergeants were getting them. 

If the extra rations for women and children be a colonial charge, it 
might be added to the charge for those who have been kept at home, 
and given to them, and none given to those who are permitted to 
accompany their husbands. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


183 


should do so, before permission be given him to marry. 
If no women were permitted to accompany the army (I 
mean on a hostile campaign, for I see no objection that 
can be made to the women being permitted to follow their 
husbands in times of peace, wherever their regiments may 
be stationed), the married men might earn more than 
their daily pay, by washing for the officers and non-com¬ 
missioned officers, and to any of the single men who are 
not inclined to wash their own linen, and thus be enabled 
to make the larger remittances. The fixing of a residence 
also, for his young family, ought to be held out as a 
stimulus for this arrangement. How few soldiers’ chil¬ 
dren have any interest in the word home, notwithstanding 
its welcome sound to the ear of the cottage-born boy, to 
whom it brings to mind all the pleasant recollections so 
firmly impressed on his mind that age is incapable of 
effacing them. It may be said by some that this view of 
home is too limited, and that a soldier ought to have no 
fixed spot in his country to call his own; but this is bad 
reasoning; for the man who prides himself in that spot 
where he intends to make a settlement, will pride himself 
also in acquiring and preserving a character that may give 
him a title to respect amidst the circle in which he means 
to pass the evening of his life; while the man of the mob, 
or the man of the world, is too often as careless of his 
country as he is of his character, and when unable to 
serve his king and country any longer, will be found 
shifting from place to place and satisfied with none. 

We left Ghent on the 27th May, and after resting one 
night at Alost, proceeded to Brussels, where we were as 
well received as we had been in the former city. 

it 2 




184 


RETROSPECT OF 


A circumstance occurred, during the time we lay in 
Brussels, which a feeling of respect for the parties con¬ 
cerned might make me forbear to record; but as it is by 
pointing out how crimes originate that we are enabled to 
avoid falling into the like afterwards, and as it is better to 
prevent crime than to have the merit of discovering it and 
bringing the offender to punishment, I shall give it a place 
in this memoir. 

In Ghent all our great-coats were taken from us, and in 
place of them we received blankets; these, for quality 
and size, were such as an army had never received before, 
and such as were worthy of England to give. They were 
intended not only to be our covering in camp, but, upon 
any emergency, to serve for a tent also. We had them 
all looped and prepared for this purpose : it is needless for 
me to explain the manner in which this was done; we 
all knew perfectly well that they were for that purpose, 
and each man had a particular interest that his comrade 
should not destroy or make away with this useful 
article. 

In Ghent, or in Brussels, each blanket could have been 
sold readily for nearly twenty shillings, a most tempting- 
price for a soldier who saw many a fine article before his 
eye that he was anxious to possess, yet could not obtain, 
but by some unjustifiable means, such as the disposal of 
his own necessaries. 

The sale of the blankets began with a few of the 
worst characters in the regiment: three men joined toge¬ 
ther and sold one; then taking shreds of the other two, 
made up the number by sewing the two shreds up the 
middle, thus preserving the appearance of complete ones, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


185 


but diminished one-third in breadth. The money was 
divided or devoted to drink, and all kept quiet for several 
days ; at last, however, the secret was divulged, and 
some of the very best characters, without any exception, 
suffered themselves to be drawn into the nefarious traffic 
which the worst had begun. 

o 

The circumstance having been reported to the colonel, 
the regiment paraded in a field for exercise without the 
walls of the city, and as on all occasions we paraded 
under arms with our knapsacks and appointments, just 
as if we had not been to return to our quarters, he 
had no difficulty in finding out the defaulters. Here 
every man was made to unpack for an inspection of ne¬ 
cessaries. This was a time when an artist might have 
seen somethino- in the human countenance and attitude 

c5 

worthy of his pencil, in delineating the stem, the sullen, 
the surprised look of many a poor luckless fellow as he 
threw his pack down before him. The blankets were 
examined, the defaulters turned to the rear, a drumhead 
court-martial assembled on the spot, the halberds fixed in 
the front, and as punishment was awarded, it was then 
and there inflicted. 

The man who would attach blame to our colonel, for 
this prompt but severe decision, knows little of military 
affairs, lie is now no more, and cares as little for what 
1 can offer in justification of his actions as for what the 
guilty, who suffered punishment, may say to brand him 
with unforgiving severity. It must be allowed, that 
those men were placing, though not intentionally, his 
commission at stake; had he winked at their proceedings, 
he might have led a half-naked regiment out of Brussels; 

r 3 



18 6 


RETROSPECT OF 


and instead of seeing us comfortably covered in our night's 
bivouac, beheld us shivering under useless shreds of blan¬ 
kets, and himself called to account by the general for the 
curtailment. 

We were now anticipating some hard work, and every 
man was impatient to be at it. 

On the night of the 15th June, we were roused from 
our peaceful slumbers by the sounding of bugles, the roll¬ 
ing of drums, and the loud notes of our Highland bagpipes, 
which threw their wild warlike strains on the midnight 
breeze, to awaken the plaided sons of Caledonia to arms. 

Until daybreak of the 16th we stood to our arms on 
the streets of Brussels, and here we w’ere served out with 
four days’ provisions for each man. The grand ball was 
broken up, and our Highland dancers, who had been in¬ 
vited to display their active movements before the as¬ 
sembled lords, ladies, and military chieftains, w r ere sent 
to their respective regiments, to prepare for other sport, 
—that of glorious battle. 

I have heard some passing animadversions upon our 
great commander, for thus passing away time upon the 
eve of so momentous an affair as that about to take place. 
I think, as a soldier, and one who was on the spot, I have 
as good a right to give my opinion concerning it as any 
of those croaking politicians who were hundreds of miles 
from the scene of operations; and in giving my opinion, 
I give it as that of every soldier who was in Brussels at 
the time, and I believe we are not the worst judges of 
what is most likely to forward a ready assembling or 
a speedy concentration of the troops, in order to attain the 
end in view. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


187 


Nothing, then, I do not hesitate to affirm, could have 
tended more to promote our great commander s views than 
this hail. Most likely it was not intended or given pur¬ 
posely to accelerate those views, hut fortunately it was 
the cause of promoting them, and of forwarding the cause 
of European independence and freedom in general. 

Owing to this general assembly of all our principal 
officers, the duke had not only all his personal staff about 
him, hut that of the generals under his command. They, 
again, had around them all the commanding officers of 
corps, to whom they could personally communicate their 
orders. The unusually late hour at which the dispatches 
from the scene of hostilities had arrived, and the informa¬ 
tion respecting the intended movements of our allies, in 
consequence of their having unexpectedly had to retreat 
from the bravely contested field, might have changed all 
our commanders plans. If this should have been the 
case, he had all those about him to whom he could com¬ 
municate his designs, without passing hours at the desk 
and sending orderlies off to the quarters of officers in a 
city, the language of whose inhabitants was foreign to us. 
All this trouble, happily for us and for Britain, was saved 
by this fortunate ball. 

As we are now about to proceed to a field where the 
fate of France, perhaps of Europe, is to be decided, I trust 
I shall be permitted to confine my remarks to the narrow 
limits within which a soldier acting in the ranks of his 
regiment may be supposed to have acted. I shall thus, 
I hope, escape the risk of hazarding the trust-worthiness 
of my narrative, and avoid the imputation of presuming 
to enter upon matters having no direct relation personally 



188 


RETROSPECT OF 


to myself. Leaving, therefore, the general operations of 
the field to the general historian, I shall confine my state¬ 
ment to the incidents which passed within the circle of 
my own observation; and in doing so, I shall indulge 
myself with less hyperbole than some may think the 
occasion would excuse, although perhaps with more than 
the good sense of a philosophic spectator, had there been 
such a one on the field, would tolerate. 

On the morning of the 16tli June, before the sun rose 
over the dark forest of Soignes, our brigade, consisting of 
the 1st, 44th, and 92d regiments, stood in column, Sir 
Denis Pack at its head, waiting impatiently for the 42d, 
the commanding-officer of which was chidden severely by 
Sir Denis for being so dilatory. We took our place in 
the column, and the whole marched off to the strains of 
martial music, and amidst the shouts of the surrounding 
multitude. 

We passed through the ancient gate of the city, and 
hundreds left it in health and high spirits who before 
night were lifeless corpses on the field to which they 
were hastening. 

As we entered the forest of Soignes, our stream of 
ranks following ranks, in successive sections, moved on in 
silent but speedy course, like some river confined between 
two equal banks. 

The forest is of immense extent, and we continued to 
move on under its welcome shade until we came to a 
small hamlet, or auberge, imbosomed in the wood to the 
right of the road. Here we turned to our left, halted, 
and were in the act of lighting fires, on purpose to set 
about cooking. We were flattering ourselves that we 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


189 


were to rest there until next day; for whatever reports 
had reached the ears of our commanders, no alarm had yet 
rung on ours. Some were stretched under the shade to 
rest; others sat in groups draining the cup, and we al¬ 
ways loved a large one, and it was now almost emptied of 
three clays’ allowance* of spirits, a greater quantity than 
was usually served out at once to us on a campaign; 
others were busily occupied in bringing water and pre¬ 
paring the camp-kettles, for we were of the opinion, as I 
have already said, that we were to halt there for the day. 
But, “ Hark! a gun!” one exclaims; every ear is set to 
catch the sound, and every mouth seems half opened, as 
if to supersede the faithless ear that doubts of hearing. 
Again another and another feebly floats through the 
forest. Every ear now catches the sound, and every 
man grasps his musket. No pensive looks are seen; our 
generals’ weather-beaten, war-worn countenances are all 
well known to the old soldiers, and no throb of fear 
palpitates in a single breast; all are again ready in 
column, and a^ain we tread the wood-lined road. 

The distant report of the guns becomes more loud, and 
our march is urged on with greater speed. We pass 
through Waterloo, and leave behind the bright fields of 
Wellington’s fame,—our army’s future glory and Eng¬ 
land’s pride. Quatre Bras appears in view; the frightened 
peasantry come running breathless and panting along the 
way. We move off to the left of the road, behind a 
gently rising eminence; form column of companies, re- 

* One English pint. There were four days’ allowance of bread, and 
three days’ of beef and spirits, issued, before leaving Brussels, for each 


man. 








190 


RETROSPECT OP 


gardless of the growing crop, and ascend the rising ground : 
a beautiful plain appears in view, surrounded with belts 
of wood, and the main road from Brussels runs through 
it. We now descended to the plain by an eschellon 
movement towards our right, halted on the road (from 
which we had lately diverged to the left), formed in line, 
fronting a bank on the right side, whilst the other regi¬ 
ments took up their position to right and left, as directed 
by our general. A luxuriant crop of grain hid from our 
view the contending skirmishers beyond, and presented a 
considerable obstacle to our advance. We were in the 
act of lying down by the side of the road, in our usual 
careless manner, as we were wont when enjoying a rest 
on the line of march, some throwing back their heads 
on their knapsacks, intending to take a sleep, when Ge¬ 
neral Pack came galloping up, and chid the colonel fur 
not having the bayonets fixed. This roused our attention, 
and the bayonets were instantly on the pieces. 

There is something animating to a soldier in the clash 
of the fixing bayonet; more particularly so, when it is 
thought that the scabbard is not to receive it until it 
drinks the blood of its foe. Call me not blood-thirsty 
for expressing myself in this unfeeling manner; it is harsh, 
but it is just. I must not allow my own feelings to be¬ 
tray me into a display of those sympathies which I have 
not seen existing. 

Our pieces were loaded, and perhaps never did a regi¬ 
ment in the field seem so short taken. We had the 
name of a crack corps, but certainly it was not then in 
that state of discipline which it could justly boast of a 
few years afterwards. Yet notwithstanding this disad- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


191 


vantage, none could be animated with a fitter feeling for 
the work before us than prevailed at that moment. 
One half of us had never been on a campaign before; 
therefore, when an old soldier began to tell, and he 
was often telling, of what he had seen and suffered, he 
engrossed all the attention and talk, with the exception 
of a few remarks that puffed up his pride more and more 
to enlarge; and our young hands, thus kept in a less as¬ 
suming position than that to which they laudably aspired, 
were anxious to be led to face the enemy. We had others 
burning with rage, resentment, and all the evil passions 
that mingle with our nature, and who could find no fit 
object around, on which they could pour out the vials of 
their wrath : still smarting under the effects of punish¬ 
ment for a crime which they could not allow themselves 
to think of great importance or disgraceful, and the less 
so as so many had participated in it. These were the men 
who had been recently convicted of making away with 
the blankets. 

W e were all ready and in line,—“ ForwardF was the 
word of command, and forward we hastened, though we 
saw no enemy in front. The stalks of the rye, like the 
reeds that grow on the margin of some swamp, opposed 
our advance; the tops were up to our bonnets, and we 
strode and groped our way through as fast as we could. 
By the time we reached a field of clover on the other 
side, we were very much straggled; however, we united 
in line as fast as time and our speedy advance would 
permit. The Belgic skirmishers retired through our ranks, 
and in an instant we were on their victorious pursuers. 
Our sudden appearance seemed to paralyze their ad- 






192 


RETROSPECT OF 


vance. The singular appearance of our dress, combined 
no doubt with our sudden debut, tended to stagger their 
resolution: we were on them, our pieces were loaded, 
and our bayonets glittered, impatient to drink their blood. 
Those who had so proudly driven the Belgians before 
them, turned now to fly, whilst our loud cheers made the 
fields echo to our wild hurrahs. 

France fled or fell before us, and we thought the field 
our own. We had not yet lost a man, for the victors 
seldom lose many, except in protracted hard-contested 
struggles : with one’s face to the enemy, he may shun the 
deadly thrust or stroke; it is the retreating soldier that 
destruction pursues. 

We drove on so fast that we almost appeared like a 
mob following the rout of some defeated faction. Marshal 
Ney, who commanded the enemy, observed our wild un¬ 
guarded zeal, and ordered a regiment of lancers to bear 
down upon us. We saw their approach at a distance, as 
they issued from a wood, and took them for Brunswickers 
coming to cut up the flying infantry; and as cavalry on 
all occasions have the advantage of retreating foot, on a 
fair field, we were halted in order to let them take their 
way : they were approaching our right flank, from which 
our skirmishers were extended, and we were far from 
being in a formation fit to repel an attack, if intended, or 
to afford regular support to our friends if requiring our 
aid. I think we stood with too much confidence, gazing 
towards them as if they had been our friends, anticipating 
the gallant charge they would make on the flying foe, 
and we were making no preparative movement to receive 
them as enemies, further than the reloading of the mus- 




A MILITARY LIFE. 


193 


kets, until a German orderly dragoon galloped up, ex¬ 
claiming, “ Franchee! Franchee!” and, wheeling about, 
galloped off. We instantly formed a rallying square; no 
time for particularity; every man’s piece was loaded, and 
our enemies approached at full charge; the feet of their 
horses seemed to tear up the ground. Our skirmishers 
having been impressed with the same opinion, that these 
were Brunswick cavalry, fell beneath tlieir lances, and 
few escaped death or wounds : our brave colonel fell at 
this time, pierced through the chin until the point of the 
lance reached the brain. Captain (now major) Menzies 
fell, covered with wounds, and a momentary conflict took 
place over him; he was a powerful man, and, hand to 
hand, more than a match for six ordinary men. The 
grenadiers, whom he commanded, pressed round to save 
or avenoe him, but fell beneath the enemies’ lances. 

Of all descriptions of cavalry, certainly the lancers seem 
the most formidable to infantry, as the lance can be pro¬ 
jected with considerable precision, and with deadly effect, 
without bringing the horse to the point of the bayonet ; 
and it was only by the rapid and well-directed fire of 
musketry that these formidable assailants were repulsed. 

Colonel Dick assumed the command on the fall of Sir 
Robert Macara, and was severely wounded. Brevet-major 
Davidson succeeded, and was mortally wounded; to him 
succeeded Brevet-major Campbell (now lieutenant-colonel 
on the unattached list). Thus, in a few minutes, we had 
been pladed under four different commanding-officers. 

An attempt was now made to form us in line; for we 
stood mixed in one irregular mass,—grenadier, light, and 
battalion companies,—a noisy group; such is the inevi- 

s 






194 


RETROSPECT OF 


table consequence of a rapid succession of commanders. 
Our covering sergeants were called out on purpose that 
each company might form on the right of its sergeant; 
an excellent plan had it been adopted, but a cry arose that 
another charge of cavalry was approaching, and this plan 
was abandoned. We now formed a line on the left of the 
grenadiers, while the cavalry that had been announced 
were cutting through the ranks of the 69th regiment. 
Meantime the other regiments, to our right and left, suf¬ 
fered no less than we; the superiority of the enemy in 
cavalry afforded him a decided advantage on the open 
plain, for our British cavalry and artillery had not yet 
reached the field. We were at this time about two fur¬ 
longs past the farm of Quatre Bras, as I suppose, and a 
line of French infantry was about the same distance from 
us in front, and we had commenced firing at that line, 
when we were ordered to form square to oppose cavalry. 
General Pack was at our head, and Major Campbell com¬ 
manded the regiment. We formed square in an instant; 
in the centre were several wounded French soldiers wit¬ 
nessing our formation round them; they doubtless con¬ 
sidered themselves devoted to certain death among us 
seeming barbarians, but they had no occasion to speak ill 
of us afterwards ; for as they were already incapable of in¬ 
juring us, we moved about them regardful of their wounds 
and suffering. 

Our last file had got into square, and into its proper 
place, so far as unequalized companies could form a square, 
when the cuirassiers dashed full on two of its faces : their 
heavy horses and steel armour seemed sufficient to bury us 
under them, had they been pushed forward on our bayonets. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


195 


A moment’s pause ensued: it was the pause of death. 
General Pack was on the right angle of the front face of 
the square, and lie lifted his hat towards the Frencli 
officer, as he was wont to do when returning a salute. 
I suppose our assailants construed our forbearance as an 
indication of surrendering; a false idea: not a blow had 
been struck nor a musket levelled; but when the general 
raised his hat, it served as a signal, though not a precon¬ 
certed one, but entirely accidental; for we were doubtful 
whether our officer commanding was protracting the order, 
waiting for the general’s command, as he was present. 
Be this as it may, a most destructive fire was opened; 
riders, cased in heavy armour, fell tumbling from their 
horses; the horses reared, plunged, and fell on the dis¬ 
mounted riders; steel helmets and cuirasses rung against 
unsheathed sabres, as they fell to the ground; shrieks 
and groans of men, the neighing of horses, and the 
discharge of musketry, rent the air, as men and horses 
mixed together in one heap of indiscriminate slaughter. 
Those who were able to fly, fled towards a wood on our 
right, whence they had issued to the attack, and which 
seemed to afford an extensive cover to an immense reserve 
not yet brought into action. 

Once more clear of these formidable and daring as¬ 
sailants, we formed line, examined our ammunition boxes, 
and found them getting empty. Our officer commanding 
pointed towards the pouches of our dead and dying com¬ 
rades, and from them a sufficient supply was obtained. 

We lay down behind the gentle rise of a trodden down 
field of grain, and enjoyed a few minutes' rest to our 
wearied limbs; but not in safety from the flying mes- 

s 2 








J 96 


RETROSPECT OF 


sengers of death, the whistling music of which was far 
from lulling us to sleep. 

The general historian of the day may with justice re¬ 
mark how well the other regiments distinguished them¬ 
selves in the field : my silence detracts nothing from 
their merit: praise from so humble a writer as I can 
give no celebrity to their achievements, which deserve to 
be recorded by one w T hose writings will descend to future 
ages; mine sinks to oblivion, and, with myself, will soon 
be forgotten. Say, then, should not this foreboding 
thought arrest the pen that would presume to trace 
achievements already on the records of history, and, in 
spite of the writer’s foresight, waste itself in hopeless 
attempts to please ? 

Afternoon was now far spent, and we were resting in 
line, without having equalized the companies, for this 
would have been extremely dangerous in so exposed a 
position; for the field afforded no cover, and we were in 
advance of the other regiments. The enemy w T ere at 
no great distance, and, I may add, firing very actively 
upon us. 

We had wasted a deal of ammunition this day, and 
surely to very little effect, otherwise every one of our 
adversaries must have bled before this time. Our com¬ 
manding-officer cautioned us against this useless expendi¬ 
ture, and we became a little more economical. 

Our position being, as I have already observed, without 
any cover from the fire of the enemy, we were com¬ 
manded to retire to the rear of the farm, where we took 
up our bivouac on the field for the night. 

Having so far detailed that part of the action most 




A MILITARY LIFE. 


197 


particularly connected with the regiment to which I 
belong, without alluding to the general proceedings of 
the day, I shall make free to take notice of the French 
accounts as given by Giraud, as he may be considered 
less partial to the cause of Britain and its allies than an 
English historian. He commences by stating :— 

“ The advance of our left wing commenced about two 
o’clock in the afternoon. The high standing corn, and the 
numerous copses and ravines which occurred between 
Frasne and Quatre Bras, prevented our troops from ascer¬ 
taining either the number or real position of the English. 
No precaution had been taken to clear away the under¬ 
wood, and thus facilitate the march and the deploying of 
the infantry, and the division of Foy, which formed the 
advanced guard, experienced much difficulty in advancing 
through the execrable roads. At length it arrived at 
Quatre Bras, and attacked the position with the bayonet; 
but it was received with a fire so incessant and murder¬ 
ous, that it was evident we were fallen into an ambuscade. 
Our troops, however, rushed with courage and impetuosity 
on an enemy whose force they disdained to calculate. The 
first brigade of the division of Bachelu, which led the 
right of the attack, imprudently advanced without wait¬ 
ing until the columns that should have supported it were 
formed, and being suddenly charged by three Scotch regi¬ 
ments, which a wood on the right had concealed from our 
view, was driven back in disorder. These regiments paid 
dearly for their success, for, eagerly pursuing the fugi¬ 
tives, they unexpectedly found themselves exposed to the 
fire of the second brigade and part of the division of Foy, 
and were almost annihilated. 


s 3 









198 


RETROSPECT OF 


“ In the mean time our troops, being engaged in a dif¬ 
ficult and unfavourable country, were unable to advance. 
The fire of the English was terrible, and it was necessary 
to have recourse to other dispositions. 

u Marshal Ney, who had hitherto thought the enemy 
less numerous than it actually appeared to be, now pre¬ 
cipitately fell into the contrary error, and at four o’clock 
in the afternoon sent in haste for the first corps. It 
should be recollected that this corps was almost three 
leagues in the rear of the field of battle: that hitherto 
the marshal had not expected or was prepared for any 
serious affair; that, consequently, he had not considered 
this corps as his reserve; that its distance would not per¬ 
mit him to hope, at whatever time he might send for it, 
that it could arrive soon enough to co-operate in any de¬ 
cisive movement; and that its absence ought not to have 
influenced the dispositions which he was still enabled to 
make to re-establish a combat, in which we must acknow¬ 
ledge that it is impossible to recognise the precaution and 
foresight of an old and experienced general. 

“ Between five and six o’clock in the evening the dis- 
positions for a new attack were completed, and our 
columns advanced to drive the enemy to the left upon 
Nivelles. 

“ Had this manoeuvre succeeded, it would have effected 
a complete separation between the English and the Prus¬ 
sians. The attack was made with partial success. The 
enemy soon gave way, but it was only to gain a wood on 
the left of the road, which he had lined with infantry, and 
where he formed himself into squares to receive us. The 
cavalry of Count Kellerman displayed the most brilliant 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


199 


courage, blit without any result worthy its efforts. The 
marshal then caused the 8th and 11th cuirassiers to ad¬ 
vance. Had this charge been made home it would have 
been decisive, but it only procured a cuirassier of the 8th 
the opportunity of seizing one of the enemy’s standards. 
These two regiments, having passed through the fire of 
the infantry concealed in the wood, refused to charge 
home on the squares, and suddenly turning their horses, 
retreated at full speed. This disagreeable flight, which 
filled the whole army with indignation, has been attri¬ 
buted to the bad conduct of one of the officers, who either 
wanting the skill, or more probably the courage, to exe¬ 
cute the movement, fled as fast as he could, and overturn¬ 
ing every thing which he met in his passage, carried 
disorder into the remotest part of our position. As the 
cuirassiers continued their flight to the rear, they caused 
the utmost confusion, and struck the bravest hearts with 
a momentary panic. The camp followers began to pillage 
the baggage. Some conscripts, who had unwillingly 
fought in our ranks, contributed to it more than the 
enemy, to whom this moment of hesitation and alarm 
afforded no opportunity to gain any decisive success. 

44 Our infantry continued to fight with unabated cou¬ 
rage, and in the most perfect order. The chasseurs of the 
guard, who hastened from Frasne to support them, found 
their services were scarcely required, and the artillery on 
our left continued to incommode the English excessivelv. 
The firing did not cease until the approach of night, 
when our troops assumed their position in front of Frasne, 
after a combat horribly destructive, and equally glorious 
to both parties. Our loss was estimated at more than 








200 


RETROSPECT OP 


four thousand men. That of the English was far greater. 
The eminences in front of the wood where they arrested 
our progress, and a hollow road which bordered it, were 
covered with their dead. Three Scotch regiments and 
the Brunswick legion were exterminated. Some other 
corps likewise suffered much. The great number of Eng¬ 
lish officers of rank who fell in this engagement, proves the 
severity of their loss and the obstinacy of the contest. 
The-'Duke of Brunswick perished in this affair.” 

The author, from whose work the above is extracted, 
has certainly come as near the truth (with the exception 
of what relates to the extermination of the three Scotch 
regiments) as any eye-witness who has attempted to write 
on the subject; and he being a Frenchman, we must allow 
him to be possessed of great candour and far from partial. 
It is impossible for an individual, who is neither omni¬ 
present nor all-seeing, to give an account of every particu¬ 
lar circumstance that takes place on the field of general 
action, so as to defy contradiction ; he must depend in 
a great measure upon the reports and statements of others 
regarding what may have occurred at a part of the field 
remote from his own observation; and in obtaining that 
which comes nearest the truth, consists the merit of the 
general writer. 

I trust to be the more readily excused for giving an 
extract from the accounts of one who treats on the gene¬ 
ral operations of the two armies, as I am not presuming 
to state on my own authority any thing but what passed 
within the narrow circle of my own observation, and this 
I acknowledge to have been so limited, that it seldom 
extended beyond my own corps. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


201 


The day’s contest at a close, our attention was directed 
to the casualties which had occurred in our ranks. We 
had lost, in killed, one colonel, one lieutenant, one en¬ 
sign, one sergeant-major, two sergeants, and forty-eight 
rank-and-file. One brevet lieutenant-colonel, five cap¬ 
tains, five lieutenants, two ensigns, fourteen sergeants, one 
drummer, and two hundred and fourteen rank-and-file 
composed our list of wounded. Six privates fell into 
the enemy’s hands; among these was a little lad (Smith 
Fyfe) about five feet high. The French general, on see¬ 
ing this diminutive looking lad, is said to have lifted him 
up by the collar or breech and exclaimed to the soldiers 
who were near him, “ Behold the sample of the men of 
whom you seem afraid!” This lad returned a few days 
afterwards, dressed in the clothing of a French grenadier, 
and was saluted by the name of Napoleon, which he 
retained until he was discharged. 

The night passed off in silence: no fires were lit ; 
every man lay down in rear of his arms, and silence was 
enjoined for the night. Round us lay the dying and the 
dead, the latter not yet interred, and many of the former, 
wishing to breathe their last where they fell, slept to 
death with their heads on the same pillow on which 
those who had to toil through the future fortunes of the 
field reposed. 

Hail, welcome night! thy pleasant shade woos our 
wearied limbs to repose, and gives a momentary respite 
to the contending hosts; withhold thy chilling dews from 
our uncovered brows ; spread thy murky mantle in mild¬ 
ness around our wounded and dying companions; reno¬ 
vate with refreshing sleep our bodily powers, that we may 











202 


RETROSPECT OF 


rise in strength for the toil of battle ! Ye spirits of the 
brave, that hover round this scene of slaughter, be near 
your surviving comrades, who must yet strive for glory! 
Look upon us in the moments when victory hesitates, and 
inspire us to emulate your actions, that our efforts may 
prove glorious in the success of our country’s arms and 
the achievement of Europe’s independence ! 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


203 




CHAPTER XIII. 

Morning Preparations.—Retire towards Waterloo.—Punishment, and 
Observations on the Necessity of rigid Discipline.—The Enemy 

attack the Rear of the Army_Unfavourable Weather_The 

Army takes up its Position.—False Alarm.—Preparations for 
Battle.—Commencement of the Engagement, and Continuation. 

—Confusion and Panic on the Road to Brussels_Conclusion of 

the Action_Joy and Grief at Brussels.—Night Reflections after 

Battle.—Observations of Giraud regarding the Battle.—Conclud¬ 
ing Observations. 

On the morning of the 17th the unclouded heavens began 
to present the approach of day, our usual signal to rise 
from our sky-canopied bed; but fatigued by our yester¬ 
day's march and field movements, we were feasting out- 
wearied limbs, if I may use the expression, and rejoicing 
in the indulgence of undisturbed repose; but no sooner 
did twilight enable us to distinguish different fields, 
or grain from grass, than we started to arms and took 
up a new line on the field, facing our yet silent foe. 
Here, after arranging our ranks and equalizing the com¬ 
panies, we piled our arms and commenced to prepare 
our yesterday’s dinner, which served us for an excellent 
breakfast. 

The men not thus engaged were now busily employed 
in burying the dead, and those who had been attending 




204 


RETROSPECT OF 


the wounded in the adjoining houses had not neglected 
the interest of their respective messes. Besides our own 
allowances of meat w T hich we had brought from Brussels, 
there was not a mess without a turkey, goose, duck, or 
fowl floating in the seetliing-kettle; and an abundance of 
vegetables from the neighbouring gardens helped to add 
to the richness of the soup, which was preparing, and 
which we got good time to take, and for this we were 
truly thankful, for we were very hungry. 

It w r ould have afforded a little amusement to those 
accustomed to the attendance of tidy waiters at their 
w r ell-served tables, to have seen us sitting on our knap¬ 
sacks round the camp-kettles, lifting up the meat on the 
point of a bayonet and dividing it without knife or fork; 
one tearing off the leg of a fowl and handing it to his 
neighbour; another with a piece of meat, half done, on 
the point of his ramrod, holding it to the blazing fire. 
We had now got our craving appetites w r ell satisfied, and 
w e had a sufficiency of beverage to make us comfortable 
and in good spirits. 

Our advanced picquets had occupied, during the night, 
the fields beyond that on which we had been engaged, 
and were not yet withdrawn. 

A passing fog hung over the plain a short time, but 
soon disappeared, and left us with a cloudless sky. A 
general retrograde movement now took place, and w r e re¬ 
tired on the main road by which we had advanced from 
Brussels. 

It was with regret that many of us left that field, on 
which some of our men lay breathing their last. Among 
this number w 7 as a young man whose wound was in his 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


205 


forehead, from which the brain protruded; in this state 
he had lain on the field during the night; his eyes were 
open, with a death-film over them; two of his comrades 
were watching the last throb of his expiring breath, be¬ 
fore they would consign his body to the grave, already 
opened to receive it, when the call to arms made us leave 
him on the field to the hands of strangers. 

The sun shone brightly on our arms as we left the 
fields of Q.uatre Bras, and passed the farm round which 
the remains of some thousands of brave men, British, 
Brunswick, Belgic, and French, were interred ; and many 
y r et lay scattered over the fields, and may have remained 
hidden amidst the grain which still continued standing, 
until the sickle or the scythe laid the fields bare. 

We passed through the small village of Quatre Bras, 
the houses of which were crowded with our wounded 
men, whose groans bore testimony to the pain they were 
suffering as they were about to be conveyed to Brussels. 
At the same time there were not a few stragglers actively 
employed searching for pillage, under the pretence of 
looking for a drink of water. 

The enemy did not as yet seem to notice our move¬ 
ment, and we continued our march until we had passed 
the village, half-way to Waterloo. Here we turned off the 
road to our right, formed in columns, and halted; and 
short as that halt was, it afforded time for one of our 
regiments to hold a drumhead court-martial and carry the 
sentence into effect on the spot. Examples of this kind 
are absolutely necessary, whatever philanthropists may 
say to the contrary; they tend to preserve regularity, 
order, and discipline; and although an individual may 

T 







206 


RETROSPECT OF 


suffer a punishment which is debasing and cruel, yet it is 
better that this should he awarded and inflicted, than to 
see hundreds fall victims to the rapacity that might ensue 
from not timely visiting the aggressor with punishment. 
When one outrage is passed over, another must he over¬ 
looked, until crimes increase, and we look among those 
who may be afterwards arraigned and ask ourselves, 
what have these men done that they should be held up 
as a public example more particularly than others who 
have been guilty of similar delinquencies ? Thus at last 
crime is softened down to delinquency; we become no 
better than public robbers, perhaps vrorse, and the poor, 
oppressed, ruined peasant looks around him for a pro¬ 
tector, and finds he has none. 

The enemy’s guns began now to thunder in our rear, and 
the sun, which had hitherto shone brightly on our arms, 
hid his face in thick rolling clouds, as if ashamed to see 
Britain’s sons leave the field to a rebel foe. The very 
heavens indicated anger, as if the ascending spirits of our 
fallen companions were imploring the ethereal powers to 
hurl the bolts of their vengeance in our face, to brand us 
with cowardice, and threaten us with instant destruction 
for thus basely leaving a field stamped with victory. 
Loud thunder shook the earth: the clouds, bursting, 
poured down their accumulated stores on our unsheltered 
heads; the lightnings played on our bayonets; the road 
became the channel of a river, and the fields on either 
side an extensive swamp. 

We had now attained the undulating height of Mount 
St. Jean, and Wellington said “ We shall retire no fur¬ 
ther.” The thunder ceased to roll its awful peals through 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


207 


the heavens, the thick embodied clouds deployed, spread 
wide, and half dissolved in drizzly mist; but as if doubt¬ 
ful of man's resolves, resumed again their threatening 
aspect, as if to secure our halt. 

Our lines now formed behind the long extended ridge 
of Mount St. Jean, having the village of Waterloo a mile 
or two in our rear, and at no less a distance the dark 
forest of Soignes, which extends to Brussels. The right of 
our front British line extended bevond Hou^oumont as 

n 

far as Mark Braine; the left is said to have extended to 
Wavre. Sir T. Picton’s division consisted of the 28th, 
32d, 79th, and the 95th (rifle corps), under the command 
of Sir James Kemp. And the 1st, 42d, 44th, and 92d 
regiments, under the command of Sir Denis Pack, ex¬ 
tended from the left of the Brussels road to a copse on a 
rising ground which probably overlooked the whole field. 
The extensive farm-house and offices of La Hay Saint 
was to the right of the division, but in front and on the 
right side of the road. 

Before us was a line of Belgic and Dutch troops; a 
narrow road, lined with stunted quickset hedges, runs 
between this line of foreigners (or I may with more jus¬ 
tice say, natives) and us. This road commands a view of 
the enemy’s position, and the side next to us is the artil¬ 
lery’s post; the hedges in front form a feeble cover from 
the enemy’s view, but no defence against his shot, shell, 
or musketry; yet here the gunners stand in all their 
pride in front of their countrymen, to give a bright ex¬ 
ample of coolness, courage, and unparalleled perseverance 
throughout the toils of the following day. 

Our line, being on the slope next to Waterloo, was 

t 2 


208 


RETROSPECT OP 


hidden from the enemy, who took up his position on the 
heights of La Belle Alliance, parallel to those of St. Jean : 
a valley, corresponding to those wavy heights on either 
side, divides the two armies, a distance of about half a mus¬ 
ket-shot intervening between the adverse fronts. Several 
lines of British were drawn up further in rear, and several 
columns seemed to bivouac in the w T ood near Waterloo. 

Being all arranged in the manner pointed out by our 
immortal leader, we piled our arms, kindled fires, and 
stood round the welcome blaze to warm ourselves and 
dry our dripping clothes. 

Midnight approached, and all the fields towards the 
artillery's post were hid in darkness, save what the fitful 
gleams of our fires cast over them. Silence prevailed, and 
wet although we were, we were falling asleep sitting 
round the fires, or stretched on scattered branches brought 
for fuel. At this time a very heavy shower poured down 
upon us, and occasioned some movement or noisy mur¬ 
mur in the French army or line of Belgians ; this induced 
our sentries to give an alarm. In an instant each man 
of the brigade stood by his musket; the bayonets w r ere 
already on the pieces, and these all loaded, notwithstand¬ 
ing the rain. 

We stood thus to our arms for nearly an hour, sinking 
to our ankles amongst the soft muddy soil of the field, 
when the alarm was found to be false, and we again sat 
or lay down to repose. 

Oh ! how pleasant is rest to the wearied soldier, after a 
disastrous day’s fatigue, and what he deems a retreat 1 
But rest is here denied, the heavens and the earth re¬ 
fuse it. The former pours down its wrath upon our 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


209 


heads, while the latter opens its bosom to give a miry 
grave. 

Long looked for day at last began to break: we stood 
to our useless arms for a few minutes, and then began to 
examine their contents. The powder was moistened in 
the piece and completely washed out of the pan. The 
shots were drawn, muskets spunged out, locks oiled, and 
every thing put to rights. 

During the night the great Napoleon had joined his 
elated army, and doubtless about that time when the false 
alarm roused us to arms, had been the time that his hosts 
welcomed him to the field, or that he had issued his ad¬ 
dress to them on the subject of their former victories, in 
which they had so conspicuously shone. Night had 
passed over their heads no less uncomfortably than with 
ourselves, but the charm of Napoleon’s presence gave an 
eclat to their busy preparations, more particularly so to 
those generals who surrounded him in the full pride of 
already conferred and yet expected honours, while he 
addressed them briefly on the glories of Friedland, Wa- 
gram, Jena, Eylau, and Austcrlitz. Had the sun arisen 
over the fields in brightness, he would have been wel¬ 
comed by Napoleon as at Austerlitz; but thick clouds 
hovered around and veiled that glorious luminary from 
the view of his devoted army, and he stood himself the 
sun of his mighty host on the morning of approaching 
battle, and his praise was shouted from rank to rank. 
But those shouts died away before reaching our ears; an 
Almighty Power hushed them in the breathless air. 

Now, on our right, Napoleon urged on his heavy co¬ 
lumns, while a like movement was made against our left. 

t 3 


210 


RETROSPECT OF 


The guns opened their war-breathing mouths in thunder¬ 
ing peals, and all along the ridge of Mount St. Jean arose 
one dense cloud of smoke. 

France now pushed forward on the line of our Belgic 
allies, drove them from their post, and rolled them in one | 
promiscuous mass of confusion through the ranks of our 
brigade, which instantly advanced to repel the pursuers, 
who came pushing on in broken disorder, in the eagerness 
of pursuit, till obstructed by the hedge and narrow road, 
while a like obstruction presented itself to us on the other 
side. We might have forced ourselves through as the 
Belgians had done, but our bare thighs had no protection 
from the piercing thorns : and doubtless those runaways 
had more wisdom in shunning death, though at the 
hazard of laceration, than -wc would have shown in 
rushing forward upon it in disorder, w T ith self-inflicted 
torture. The foe beheld our front and paused; a sudden 
terror seized his flushed ranks. We -were in the act of 
breaking through the hedge, when our general gave orders 
to open our ranks. In an instant our cavalry passed 
through, leaped both hedges, and plunged on the panic- 
stricken foe. “ Scotland for ever!” bursts from the mouth 
of each Highlander, as the Scots Greys pass through our 
ranks. 

What pen can describe the scene ? Horses’ hoofs sink¬ 
ing in mens breasts, breaking bones and pressing out 
their bowels. Riders’ swords streaming in blood, waving 
over their heads and descending in deadly vengeance. 
Stroke follows stroke, like the turning of a flail in the 
hand of a dexterous thresher; the living stream gushes 
red from the ghastly wound, spouts in the victor’s face, 





A MILITARY LIFE. 


211 


and stains him with brains and blood. There the piercing 
shrieks and dying groans; here the loud cheering of an 
exulting army, animating the slayers to deeds of signal 
vengeance upon a daring foe. Such is the music of the 
held! Neither drum nor fife is here to mock us with use¬ 
less din, but guns and muskets raise their dreadful voice, 
throw out the messengers of death to check a valiant foe, 
and bid him turn before the more revolting shock of steel 
to steel ensues. It was a scene of vehement destruction, 
yells and shrieks, wounds and death; and the bodies of 
the dead served as pillows for the dying. 

And here, brave Picton, our gallant general, thou seest 
thy heavy squadrons sweep all before them, and in this 

i 

bright moment of England’s glory thou fallest. But 
thou hast fallen among the brave; Ponsonby rests in 
death on the field, and Uxbridge honours the ground 
with his blood. 

The guns cease their thundering peals; the infantry 
gaze in silent wonder at the indiscriminate work of 
slaughter before them, till, flushed with victory and 
bathed in blood, the victors drive beyond the bounds of 
well-timed support, and their bravest lie stretched on 
those whom their swords have laid low. 

Return, ye champions of the field ! Return : the train 
pet’s voice summons you back, and your countrymen 
anxiously look for the issue. 

A thousand prisoners are driven in before our cavalry 
as they return over the corpse-strewn field, and the loud 
shouts of ten thousand soldiers welcome the victors back. 
But long and loud are the enthusiastic cheerings of the 
proud Highlanders as they greet the gallant Greys’ ap- 


212 


RETROSPECT OP 


proach. “ Glory of Scotland !” bursts spontaneously from 
the mouth of each Highlander, while rending shouts of 
“ England’s” or “ Ireland’s” glory welcomes the 1st and 
Enniskillen Dragoons, and echoes along the lines. 

This dreadful charge made by our cavalry, in our im¬ 
mediate front, gave an impulse bordering on enthusiasm 
to our spirits that nothing could depress. But the enemy, 
as if dreading more than common opposition at this spot, 
forbore to press upon it during the remaining part of the 
day. 

Meanwhile that our heavy dragoons thus bore down all 
opposition on the left, the enemy was bearing all before 
him and sweeping the held on the right, until stopped 
by squares of infantry, and rolled back in confusion on 
his own supporting columns, followed by our cavalry in 
turn. The victors and the vanquished appeared, occa¬ 
sionally, like the flight of birds in the northern valleys 
when the face of the fields is covered with snow: they 
fly from the forest to the farm, and from the farm to the 
forest, and no place of rest seems to be theirs. Thus toiled 
both armies through the day, and the guns never ceased 
their dreadful roar, save amidst some slaughtering charge, 
when sword or bayonet did the work of destruction. 

The right and left both sustained the impetuous onset 
of Napoleon’s cavalry, and these on each occasion met 
with powerful opposition, and were driven back in wild 
confusion. But on the right and centre he seems to urge 
his greatest force throughout the whole day. La Hay 
Saint is one pool of blood ; against it Napoleon’s artillery 
incessantly play, and columns of infantry are uro-ed on to 
drive the brave defenders out. But these meet them with 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


213 


fire and steel, and repel them with determined resolution. 
Here a never ceasing combat rages throughout the day, 
and forms an interesting object in the general picture of 
the field. Houefoumont is no less a scene of slaughter; 
there every effort is made to obtain possession and to 
break in upon our right wing. Sometimes in the heat of 
a charge they rush past its bounds, but meet with wounds 
or death as they fly back; for it is only when the enemy 
occasionally pursues his apparently victorious course be¬ 
yond his lines and past our guns that he gets a view of 
our columns or lines of infantry, which immediately take 
advantage of his disordered front, and drive him back 
with immense loss, beyond our guns and down the de¬ 
scent : they then retire to their well chosen ground and 
send out a company or tw r o of skirmishers from each 
regiment to keep up a never ceasing fire, save when 
driven back on their respective columns in those repeated 
charges. 

That man who brands our foe with cowardice deserves 
the lie; he advances to our cannon’s mouth, and seeks 
death from the destructive bayonet; but he meets with 
men inured to war, animated with an equal share of na¬ 
tional pride, confident in the success of their leader, and 
thus rejoicing in the ambitious strife, protract the raging 
fight. 

Hither, ye sage philanthropists, approach and see the 
battle-field; see man to man a human butcher made, the 
more lie slays the braver man is he! 

The sun, as he hastens down, bursts through the hazy 
clouds and gleams in brightness over the long contested 
field. It is the setting sun of Napoleons greatness. No 


214 


RETROSPECT OF 


more shall he hail the first rays of that glorious orb as a 
signal for battle and victory. 

The contest still rages, and Wellington’s reserves ad¬ 
vance to the front. The cannon still throw their death- 
commissioned charges over the contested ground, and 
thunder along the ridge of Mount St. Jean. 

Towards Brussels, thousands of fugitives, prisoners, 
horses, mules, and waggons with baggage, roll along 
without order, and pressing on the bleeding victims of 
the day, crush them to death or hurry them off the way. 

The approach of the fugitives, and the confused appear¬ 
ance of our light baggage, struck Brussels with alarm: 
the living tide rolled in at its gates, and the early fugi¬ 
tives of the day declared that all was lost; while every 
succeeding runaway confirmed the unwelcome tidings, to 
cover his own cowardly flight. The walls were crowded 
with the anxious inhabitants of the city, as well as with 
the deeply interested peasantry, who had fled from the 
scene of action, listening to the hostile report of the guns. 
Imagination brought the sound at times louder, and as if 
approaching nearer to their gates; but now when the 
stream of fugitives poured in, all was confusion and de¬ 
spair. Some fled for safety towards Ghent, Ostend, or 
Antwerp, while others withdrew to their houses and 
trusted to the simple security of their bolted doors. 

What thoughts may we suppose agitated the breast of 
our noble leader as his last reserve stood in extended line 
on the ridge of the heights; when the hydra of France 
threw forward its heads of battalions to the mouth of our 
guns ? The word was given to charge. 

From right to left the welcome word flew over the 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


215 


field ; the forest of Soignes echoed to its farthest bounds 
the loud shouts of an elated army. The guns cease their 
thundering roar ; Brussels hears no more their sound, 
thinks Britain’s cause is lost, and dread despair hangs 
over its peopled walls. Proud city, fear not! The charge 
is given from right to left, and all Napoleon’s columns 
and lines, foot and horse, in one mingled mass of con¬ 
fusion, fly over the field, while on our left the hardy 
Prussians come in to share the toils of the hard-fought 
day, and push the disorganized enemy over the face of the 
country, till midnight gives a respite to the pursuer and 
the pursued. 

On the heights of La Belle Alliance, which France had 
occupied during the day, our troops took up their bivouac 
for the night; while the severely wounded, the dying, 
and the dead rested under the cloudless canopy of heaven, 
on the sloping sides of the late contested valley, until 
morning threw its dawning light over the death-strewn 
fields. 

Ah! ye sympathizing friends, approach this scene of 
carnage ! Ye who commiserate the distresses of mankind ! 
Ye who deplore the untimely fate of wretches doomed to 
death for crimes against the law! Ye who raise your 
voice to mitigate those wretches’ well-merited doom, ap¬ 
proach and see the men whose only crime has been to 
serve their country, maintain its proud pre-eminence in 
the face of Europe, and crush an ambitious foe, insatiate 
of blood and thirsting for conquest! See those men, who 
in obedience to the law have fought and bled, yet here 
unpitied die! The rising sun beheld them full of health, 
of hope, of cheerful spirits, and in the confidence of success 


216 


RETROSPECT OP 


to the arms of their country. The mantle of night now 
darkens the field of their rest, and every hope of life is 
fled. Their sense of feeling still exists, and warns them 
that death is nigh; their bed, the miry ground; thirst 
intolerable demands a cooling draught; they cry for drink, 
then listen to hear if any friendly foot approaches; no 
sound comes to their ears but that of groans and calls for 
drink. No drink is here unmixed with blood, no friendly 
foot steps over this gory field, but prowling fiends perhaps 
may steal along to strip the dead. Death, friendly death, 
how welcome art thou now! 

The loss of the regiment this day was trifling, if com¬ 
pared with that which it sustained on the 16th at Quatre 
Bras: we had only six men killed; one captain, three 
lieutenants, and thirty-three rank-and-file wounded. 

Brussels, which had been kept in a state of excitement 
since the night of the 15th, heard the glad tidings of the 
result of the battle, and the doors were opened wide for 
the reception of the bleeding soldiers, who had been con¬ 
veyed thither on waggons or had dragged their maimed 
limbs along the way without assistance. 

The poor women, who had been forced back to the rear 
of the army when the battle commenced, were hurried 
amidst the mingled mass of fugitives, panic-struck bat¬ 
men, mules, borses, and cattle, back to the gates of Brus¬ 
sels ; but on entering, found no friendly hand stretched 
out to take them off the streets. Every one there was full 
of her own misery, no one had a word of consolation to 
offer a stranger, and the shade of night was spreading 
over the ill-foreboding city, as the glad tidings burst from 
the walls to palaces and streets, until tower and cottage 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


217 

echoed to the joyful bursts of the rejoicing multitude. 
St. Guidel’s bells gave to the passing breeze their joyful 
peals to animate a desponding country, while every heart 
was filled with gladness, and every voice shouted out 
“ England and Wellington!” 

But amidst this scene of Brussels’ joy, there were some 
who could not participate in the general ebullition of glad¬ 
ness. These were the fugitives, who, witnessing the first 
successful charge of Napoleon’s cavalry, thought all was 
lost, and sought refuge beyond the range of shot and shell, 
and left the field to men of stronger nerves. Those run¬ 
aways, convinced too late of their own demerit, now 
wished the walls to fall upon them and hide them under 
their ruins. To return to the field was eternal disgrace; 
to seek shelter elsewhere, misery. 

A few*, far different from these, stood oppressed with 
anxiety, strangers to the scenes of rejoicing or to the voice 
of gladness that rung from house to house in their ears ; 
these were the poor distressed women who knew not yet 
of their husbands’ fate. To advance through the forest 
by night, and on a road they had so lately traced, marked 
with confusion, blocked with overturned baggage, help¬ 
less wounded soldiers, and, worst of all, by prowling strag¬ 
glers, would have been madness. There was no resource 
but to seek shelter under some hospitable roof; and whai 
city could boast of more hospitality than Brussels, when 
anxious fears for her own safety w*ere allayed? Each 
door was opened, and each matron, to whom application 
was made, gave a British soldier’s wife a ready welcome. 

Hail, blessed night! Thou art as welcome to the vic¬ 
torious soldier as rest is to the weary traveller, and thy 

u 


218 


RETROSPECT OF 


grateful shade gives to his toils a momentary respite, 
while deeply immersed in sleep he dreams of all his by¬ 
gone dangers, and thinks that years have passed since the 
bloody fray, and that he now sits beside the cheerful 
hearth, telling the wondrous tale to the listening villagers, 
while their little urchins clino- round his knee and think 
him a great man: so at least he imagines; till starting 
in the midst of his supposed narration, he finds himself 
cold and cheerless on the battle-field. 

Ye near relations of those who are stretched lifeless on 
this field of Europe’s freedom, of Britain’s glory, does 
sleep hover round the pillow of your repose ? or do you 
watch the mail’s arrival to hear accounts from the scene 
of hostilities ? or do you meditate the despatch of letters 
to relations or friends engaged in this campaign ? Soon, 
very soon, shall the joyful post appear with the glorious 
tidings of victory to the arms of Britain, but gloomy 
tidings he brings to you whose friends lie slain on the 
field of battle. No answer shall be returned to your 
letter, except from the hand of a friendly stranger. Your 
friend lies cold on the field, surrounded with the gory 
dead; perhaps the vital spark is struggling to quit its 
painful prison, and seek a more welcome abode in hap¬ 
pier regions, far from war and strife, “ where the troublers 
cease to give annoyance, and the weary rest.” 

Night passes over the groaning field of Waterloo, and 
morning gives its early light to the survivors of the battle 
to return to the heights of St. Jean, on purpose to succour 
the wounded or bury the dead. 

Here may be seen the dismounted gun, the wheels of 
the carriage half sunk in the mire; the hand of the gun- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


219 


ner rests on the nave, his body half-buried in a pool of 
blood, and his eyes open to heaven, whither his spirit has 
already fled. 

Here are spread, promiscuously, heaps of mangled 
bodies,—some without head, or arms, or legs,—others lie 
stretched naked, their features betraying no mark of 
violent suffering. 

The population of Brussels, prompted by a justifiable 
curiosity, approach the field to see the remains of the 
strangers who fell to save their spoil-devoted city, and to 
pick up some fragment as a memorial of the battle, or as 
a relic for other days. Of these the field affords an abun¬ 
dant harvest: cuirasses, helmets, medals, swords, pistols, 
and all the various weapons of destruction in military use, 
besides the balls and bullets, which may be ploughed up 
a thousand years hence. Here also are hundreds of blan¬ 
kets, ripped up knapsacks, torn shirts, stockings, and all 
the simple contents of the fallen soldiers’ kits. Letters and 
memoranda of the slain strew the field in every direction, 
which are picked up by the curious and carefully preserved. 

Giraud, from whose work I made free to make an ex¬ 
tract regarding the operations of Quatre Bras, remarks, in 
his closing account of the battle of Waterloo, that, u Such 
were the principal circumstances, and such the issue of the 
battle of Mont St. Jean (Waterloo), which would have 
resembled the disasters of Poictiers, of Cressy, of Agin- 
court, and of Pavia, if, by inflicting so fatal a blow on our 
military power, it had not produced a compensation for 
our reverses, in the return of a monarch from whom 
the nation anxiously expects the termination of its mis¬ 
fortunes. 

u 2 



220 


RETROSPECT OP 


“ History will not withhold the meed of praise which 
is due to the victims of the ambition of this terrific mad¬ 
man, whom she will rank with Genghis-Khan or with 
Tamerlane. She will say, that if valour alone could have 
secured the victory, the French army would have been 
invincible.” 

The French writers attribute the loss of the battle to 
some fatal errors committed by Napoleon, particularly in 
his obstinate neglect of Marshal Grouchy’s disposition, 
and putting all to the hazard of bearing down our centre, 
so near the close of the day. But it must be considered, 
that if the enemy had been victors, all those retrospective 
errors would have been magnified into well-digested plans 
which none but the master-mind of the great Napoleon 
could have been capable of unfolding. His obstinacy 
would have been considered firmness and courage, blended 
with an implicit confidence in the bravery of his troops 
and the talents of his generals. His neglect of the Prus¬ 
sians, whom he supposed Grouchy was watching or pur¬ 
suing, would have been ascribed to a contempt of their 
abilities to out-manoeuvre him. In short, there would have 
been no errors or misconduct, but each operation naturally 
producing its intended effect, finally leading to the annihi¬ 
lation of the opposing armies, and the glory of France. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


221 


CHAPTER XIV. 

Advance after the Enemy.—Destruction of Property and marauding. 
—Thirst and want of Water.—Clicliy Camp.—Break up Camp. 

—St. Germain—Neufle Chateau_March to Calais..—Obstinate 

Assistant Sergeant-major_Observations regarding Sergeant-ma¬ 

jors and Promotion from the Ranks.—Embark for England. 

Tiie din of battle lias ceased on the plain. The sun has 
attained the meridian. The bugles call again to arms, 
and the martial life-stirring pipes give their wild wailings 
to the plaided sons of Caledonia, and gather them from 
the graves of their comrades to advance after the retreat¬ 
ing foe. 

An appearance of cleanly comfort, notwithstanding the 
late distracted state of the country, seems to prevail over 
the face of the Netherlands, where considerable respect is 
paid by the army to the property of the inhabitants, and 
our march is confined to the main or cross roads by which 
we advance. The weather was pleasant, though some-' 
what sultry ; and we halted, by the orders of the general, 
in columns on the road or fields adjoining, for a few mi¬ 
nutes, each successive hour. 

The Scotch Greys were enjoying one of those rests, 
which proved so refreshing to every corps on the line of 
march, and our brigade, after having enjoyed a similar 

u 3 


22 2 


RETROSPECT OF 


one in rear, was marching past them. A sudden halt 
was made, whether by order or a natural impulse of na¬ 
tional feeling, I know not; but a loud cheering com¬ 
menced from both sides, and a mutual break of the ranks 
took place, until an interchange of canteens and spirit 
horns, pledged to reciprocal friendship and “ Auld lang 
syne,” shut our vociferous mouths for some seconds, after 
which a shaking of hands and loud cheering commenced, 
and we parted as much elated as on the day of Waterloo, 
when they passed through our ranks to battle and victory. 

We continued our route through Mons, and entered 
the French frontiers at Malplacjuet, the site of one of 
Marlborough’s glorious victories. 

We are now on enemy’s ground, and the relentless 
Prussians are desolating in front. We find the houses 
stripped of their furniture; the china-ware, glasses, mir¬ 
rors, chimney-ornaments, broken and scattered about in 
fragments; the statues and busts of eminent persons cast 
from their pedestals and dashed to pieces. The fields, on 
which the victors have rested, are spread with beds, blan¬ 
kets, torn carpets, linen, and tapestry. All sorts of furni¬ 
ture and utensils, mixed in wild wasting disorder, present 
themselves to our view, leaving a sad memorial to the 
distressed peasantry of Prussia’s retaliation for the insults 
and outrages suffered by her from France. 

Indeed, the march of the Prussians might be well com¬ 
pared to that of the Goths after the death of Fritigern. 
“ Their mischievous disposition,” says the historian, “ was 
shown in the destruction of every object which they 
wanted strength to remove or taste to enjoy.” 

I have no doubt but the same character might have 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


223 


been as applicable to us, had our country suffered similar 
injuries to those which Prussia had sustained from the 
French; and had we been permitted to act without 
control. 

It was no small advantage to us that those vindictive 
troops had taken the advance, notwithstanding that no 
houses were left unsacked in their rear. The gardens 
and fields were offering their earliest productions to our 
hand. The potatoes were in full blossom, and the roots, 
though small, were tempting to lift, and to us a desirable 
but forbidden prize. Our officer commanding interdicted 
us from taking that liberty with the fields and gardens 
which the Prussians had taken with the houses; and it 
was at the risk of corporal punishment that a soldier 
could help his mess to a few vegetables from the garden 
of a deserted house. 

We halted one day in the close vicinity of a deserted 
village, about a mile or two beyond a river (perhaps the 
Somme). This village consists of two rows of houses, 
one on each side of the road; that to the right of the 
road has a range of neat gardens, lined with w r ell-dressed 
hedges; and in the separating fences, between the dif¬ 
ferent properties, there w T ere small w r ickets at which \ye 
could pass out of the one garden into the other, as if there 
had been a community of interest amongst the proprietors, 
or at least a very good understanding amongst them. 
There is an extensive belt of wood at a small distance, 
and it almost encircles the village fields. Here the houses 
were completely gutted; the apothecary’s mortars and 
pestles, gallipots, phials, and drugs were strewed about 
his little laboratory; the doors were wrenched from the 


224 


RETROSPECT OF 


posts and cast down, to serve as a couch for some one less 
fortunate than his neighbour in seizing a mattrass or a 
feather-bed. A few of our men had made free to enter 
the gardens, along the fences of which our tents were 
pitched, and were returning with vegetables for their re¬ 
spective messes, when they were met by our officer com¬ 
manding, who ordered them off to the rear-guard; fortu¬ 
nately for them, General Pack was passing, and he, after 
hearing the case, gave great satisfaction to all, no doubt 
to the very officer who had ordered the arrest, by releasing 
the prisoners, and setting the matter at rest regarding 
the supplying the wants of the camp from the enemy’s 
fields. 

This decision having been made in favour of the soldiers, 
the gardens were in a short space cropt of every culinary 
article, and left as bare as if a swarm of locusts had eaten 
up every green blade and berry. For, thus licensed, the 
currant berries were pulled from the bending bushes, the 
ripe cherries from the overloaded trees, and the green 
pease and beans became good booty, and open to all. 
Indulgences of this kind, however, are seldom granted 
without giving room for abuses, the recapitulation of 
which might be as uninteresting as uncalled for; and if 
some traits of generosity were occasionally blended w ith 
outrages, the latter too often so far exceeded the other as 
to leave no room to consider any of those traits as inherent 
virtues or national vices peculiar to the country to which 
the individuals who bore a share in those acts laid claim. 

This village having been abandoned by the principal 
part of its inhabitants, it was supposed by some that they 
had taken refuge with some of their most valuable effects 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


225 


in the wood, and as soon as the tents were pitched, not a 
few of our men directed their unauthorized course thither, 
some under pretence of procuring wood for fuel, or for erect¬ 
ing temporary huts for the night, but with the real inten¬ 
tion of obtaining booty. Two or three of these stragglers, 
for a soldier seldom or never attempted singly a distant 
enterprise, having espied an ass browsing under a tree, one 
of them (a married man whose wife was following in rear of 
the army) thought this a valuable prize, and accordingly 
made the capture. He was in the act of leading it off' 
exulting in his good fortune, when its owner, an old man, 
made his appearance from an adjoining thicket, where he 
had been concealing himself, and with moving tone and 
gesture supplicated for the release of his animal. Age is 
generally respected, but when it appears amidst misfor¬ 
tunes, not the effects of self-improvidence, struggling with 
adversity, and the tear of injured feelings trickling down 
the furrowed cheek, the appeal for support is seldom 
made in vain. But there are some whose avaricious dis¬ 
position silences every generous call of manly virtue, and 
grasps at any thing which promises a present or an anti¬ 
cipated advantage. He who made the capture was one of 
those callous kind of beings. The old mans language was 
not understood, but his supplicating gestures and tears of 
distress came home to every bosom of the participators in 
the capture or robbery; yet so far does bad example tend 
to corrupt and debase those who become exposed to its 
hardening influence, that they who would act otherwise if 
otherwise led, consent by silence to that which their 
hearts despise, and their words at other times condemn. 
The animal was about being driven or led off, when the 


226 


RETROSPECT OP 


old man’s lamentations reached the ears of another party 
looking out for booty also. Amongst the latter was a 
young man of whom I may have occasion to make mention 
hereafter: he was one of those who joined the regiment 
the preceding year from a French prison, having been a 
prisoner of war; he not only understood the French lan¬ 
guage, but spoke it fluently; he heard the poor man’s 
complaint, and represented to his own and the other party 
the losses he had sustained; he had been turned out of 
his house, plundered of all worth taking, and what was 
not worth taking destroyed; he had lost all save this ani¬ 
mal, on which he now placed his dependence for earning 
a livelihood, should he himself survive the misery of the 
time. Every voice demanded the restitution, and the 
disappointed captor was obliged to yield up his prize to 
its proper owner, who was advised, by the spokesman of 
the party, to return to the village and resume the occupa¬ 
tion of his house, and fear no danger; he did so, met with 
no opposition, brought his family from their retreat in the 
wood, and blessed those whom he had occasion at first to 
curse, not only as the enemies of his country but of him¬ 
self. 

The only privation to which the soldiers were subjected, 
during their advance to Paris, was an occasional want of 
water, particularly when marching in the sultry heat of the 
day along a dusty road : the treading of our feet threw up 
the dust in suffocating clouds, while the men became 
parched with thirst, and left their ranks in every direction, 
whenever a stream, well, pool, or puddle presented itself. 
We were indulged with a few minutes rest every hour, 
and these halts, intended for refreshment or relaxation, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


227 


though designed for the benefit of the whole brigade, yet, 
under certain circumstances, did not serve every regiment 
alike for that purpose. Some officers in command would 
not permit the front file of their respective corps to pass 
up to the rear files of the preceding one, therefore had to 
rest where halted, when perhaps a stream of water was 
running past the one in front; and when the brigade 
resumed the march, it became a very unpleasant duty to 
keep the men in their ranks; the much-desired object 
was in view, and there was no resisting the temptation. 
On these occasions, too frequently, the non-commissioned 
officers would go, as if for the purpose of bringing back 
the stragglers, though more with the intention of getting 
that for themselves of which they were to deprive the 
privates. The men were thus hurried along, cursing those 
whose privileged rank allowed them that enjoyment which 
they, the inferiors, were denied. 

On or about the 1st of July, we were approaching a 
small village; the wind blew the dust in suffocating 
clouds, no water appeared on either side of the road, and 
many of the men lay down unable or unwilling to proceed 
one step further. Officers and men suffered alike, but 
certainly the men who were under the burden of heavy 
arms, ammunition, and knapsacks, were more to be pitied 
than those who marched under less incumbrance. After 
marching what we considered a long day’s march, we 
struck off the main road, which diverged to the left; that 
by -which we proceeded, was a narrow cross road, and led 
us to the place of our night’s encampment. The officer 
who then commanded had, during the whole day, been 
extremely vigilant in keeping the ranks locked up; he 


228 


RETROSPECT OF 


had been incessantly riding round the battalion, placing 
himself on the right flank of the front file and allowing 
the whole to pass, then galloping up the left and resum¬ 
ing his post on the right flank. This vigilance, on the 
part of our commander, was intended to guard against 
any leaving his ranks. 

After quitting the main road, we came to a pleasant 
valley, watered by a considerable stream; the road lies 
along the right bank of a water-course or mill-lead. 
Nothing could now resist the rush that was made towards 
the water, and to have made a formal halt would have 
detained the following regiment, as eager for the enjoy¬ 
ment as ourselves: the self-deniers therefore marched on, 
while those impelled by the irresistible call of thirst grati¬ 
fied it, though under a threat of punishment; but the 
number of those brought with us into the field was so 
few, and of the disobedient left behind so many, that an 
example of severity was not resorted to; the delinquents 
of course were forgiven, and the trespass forgotten. 

It is to be observed, that by yielding to a craving in¬ 
clination to drink, we stimulate a flame that demands 
incessant quenching, and the more we attempt to keep it 
under by pouring water upon it, the more it is excited to 
blaze forth; it must be smothered, not slaked; by self- 
denial and short endurance thirst can be overcome, and 
the man who firmly denies himself the indulgence of 
drink for a few days, will easily extend his abstinence 
to weeks, months, and even years. I do not suggest 
that system of self-denial for another which I myself 
have not observed; years have elapsed since the occur¬ 
rence before mentioned took place, and I am not ashamed 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


229 


to sav, without considering it egotism, that from that 
day forwards, during my service, water never passed my 
throat ; and when on the march it became my duty to 
prevent men quitting their ranks to drink, I could with 
the better grace, and without meeting with a sulky look 
or reply, endeavour to persuade them to bear with their 
suffering. I recommend this observation more particu¬ 
larly to a non-commissioned officer than to a private; the 
latter has only his own conduct to answer for, the former 
has not only his own but that of the other, in a general 
sense of duty, to account for. 

On the 4th July we encamped on the right bank of the 
Seine, at Clicliy, near Paris, and for ten weeks the pro¬ 
duce of the gardens, vineyards, orchards, and fields were 
free to our hands; but this freedom being abused, was 
withdrawn, yet not until little remained for use; and by 
that time public confidence was so far restored, that our 
camp was well supplied with every necessary of life; our 
pay was regular and our rations good. 

Contiguous to the camp was a small island thickly 
covered with willow trees, and thousands of young sap¬ 
lings, rising from the parent roots, sprung up to a great 
height: these afforded excellent materials for constructing 
huts, and the leisure hours of those who had wives were 
devoted to the erecting of sheds, similar to those we had 
constructed in former campaigns : they not only'afforded 
a cooler retreat in summer than the tents, but protected 
us more effectually from cold and rain. 

It is with satisfaction I bring to my recollection how 
pleasantly I was then situated. My little hut, small as it 
was, I thought enviable; behind it gently flowed the 


x 


230 


RETROSPECT OF 


Seine; before it rose a green bank; a little arched porch 
of wicker-work guarded my feeble door, of plaited twigs, 
from casual gusts of wind. The interior was about eight 
feet long and six wide, and decorated with some paltry 
gewgaws obtained from some of the scattered wreck of the 
deserted mansions in the neighbourhood. A little link or 
seat of turf ran along the side of the bed, and this was 
the only place where we could sit, and we used it as 
our sofa. One pane of glass gave ample light to the 
interior, where, among the puerile ornaments with -which 
female fancy liked to deck the wicker frame, were strings 
and clusters of cut glass, the wreck of Jerome Bonaparte’s 
splendid chandeliers, which had been dashed in pieces and 
scattered over the floors of his deserted chateau. 

From this description of my habitation, of which I 
was proud, some may conclude that it was miserable 
enough, but to me it was of no small importance, and its 
respectability was only to be known by the appearance it 
had when compared with those which rose up around it. 
The reader may smile at the idea of such respectability, but 
I really thought it respectable, and wns satisfied with the 
comforts it afforded. What Goldsmith says of the Swiss 
peasant’s lot, might have been justly applied to mine: 

“ Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feast though small, 

He sees his little lot, the lot of all; 

Sees no contiguous palace rear its head 
To shame the meanness of his humble shed.” 

4 

The regiment began to recruit its strength again, by 
the joining of our men from Brussels and Antwerp, 
where the military hospitals had been established. Colo¬ 
nel (now Sir Robert II.) Dick, having so far recovered as 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


231 


to bo considered convalescent, resumed the command of 
the regiment, and, I may say, re-organized it. 

Our field exercise was easy, and regularly over be¬ 
tween seven and eight every morning. We had then 
the whole day for amusement, for regular breakfast messes 
had not then gained a footing in the regiment, that meal, 
if it could be called one, was a shift off: a bit of bread, 
and the morning allowance of spirits, satisfied the greater 
number better than they are now, when a system is en¬ 
forced to sit down to breakfast at the sound of drum or 
bugle. Neither had we any roll-calls for dinner; if a man 
did not think proper to attend, he might absent himself 
without being called to account: but he had no redress 
or compensation for the loss of his mess, if it was not laid 
aside for him by his comrade; and we heard of no com¬ 
plaints or grumbles afterwards. 

The man who is occasionally accustomed to plenty and 
to want, submits with less inconvenience to the latter, 
when he is obliged to do so; and it may perhaps be found 
that over much attention to our comforts, instead of prov¬ 
ing an individual advantage, may turn out a national 
evil. 

Twelve weeks passed pleasantly over in this delightful 
place. October was approaching with its cloudy sky, 
and the trodden fields were presenting their bleak, neg¬ 
lected appearance, when we struck camp and proceeded to 
take up winter-quarters. Some careless or ill-intentioned 

wretch set fire to our huts as the long roll of the drum 

# 

and sound of the bagpipe called us to get into the ranks, 
and with regret I looked back on the rising smoke of our 
huts, and forward on the rising flames of those of 

x 2 


own 


232 


RETROSPECT OP 


another regiment, among the beautiful trees that lined the 
bordering grounds of Clichy. This was a most wanton 
outrage, and was reprobated by every one, perhaps even 
by the unknown incendiary himself, when he saw the 
branches of the tall trees catching the flame. 

We halted one night at St. Germain, a town beauti¬ 
fully situated on the brow of an upland overlooking the 
mazy windings of the Seine, as it passes through one 
of the loveliest valleys of which France can boast; and 
although autumn’s golden hue began to grow faint on 
the bordering heights, still the lingering remains of sum¬ 
mer beauty played on the face of the fields and retained 
the reluctant leaves on the fading boughs. Here is an 
extensive park or royal forest, once the favourite resort 
of majesty, but now much neglected. Here is also an 
ancient palace, in tolerable repair: it was built by 
Charles the Fifth of France, and was the residence of 
the last James of England and of his grandson, Prince 
Charles Edward. One short century has not yet elapsed 
since kings, queens, lords, and ladies proudly paced 
through these halls, and now the plaided ranks of Cale¬ 
donia find shelter under its roof, and in the vestibules 
light their fires and proceed with their culinary avo¬ 
cations, while some examine well the numerous apart¬ 
ments and gaze around with- respectful awe on the ancient 
heraldic ornaments that decorate the side of the lofty 
chapel, now yielding to time, and mouldering on the dank 
blotched walls. And here are some rusty arms, a sad 
memorial of the last of the Stuarts. Highlanders! let 
these rusty remains be sacred as a memorial of French 
hospitality to the last of an illustrious race of kings and 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


233 


an unfortunate fallen family. The two Highland regi¬ 
ments of the brigade having been allotted this old palace 
for their quarters, the other two regiments were billeted 
on the inhabitants, who received them kindly, and treated 
them with a degree of hospitality not expected. The 
following day, as we were ready to march off, the whole 
were detained by order of the general, in consequence of 
a complaint having been made that one of the soldiers 
had stolen a pair of scissors, the property of a tailor. 
Inquiry was made along the ranks; but what soldier 
would steal such a paltry article, or at least acknowledge 
having done so ? The general ordered a strict search to 
be made, and every soldier of the four regiments had to 
submit his knapsack to a minute inspection, but to no 
purpose; I even doubt if they were stolen, or if they had, 
and been found, that the tailor would have acknowledged 
them, after valuing them at thirty-six francs (about thirty 
shillings sterling), which was paid by a stoppage of one 
farthing off each man’s pay, and we marched off all 
honest men, yet, by this accusation and public exposure, 
every one under the suspicion of being a thief. 

We now proceeded to Chateau Neuf, or Neufle Chateau, 
a delightful village, pleasantly situated on the brow of a 
hill, overlooking a finely cultivated country, extending to¬ 
wards Versailles and Montford. Behind the town the 
hill rises with an easy ascent, covered with a considerable 
forest of trees, and the fields, which slope down on each 
side of the village to the plain, are lined with thriving 
belts of wood. 

The reoiinent remained in Neufle Chateau until the 
30th November, when we received orders to proceed to 

x 3 


234 


RETROSPECT OP 


Boulogne for embarkation. We proceeded on our route 
by Meulun, Pontoise, Beaumont, Nally, Beauvais, Mar- 
selle, and Peaux; at each of which we were received 
with the most hospitable kindness. 

On the 2d December the frost set in with unusual 
severity: the cold was more like that of the polar regions 
than of France. Our Highlanders had their flesh laid 
open and bleeding by the ruffling of the kilts against their 
thighs; the icicles gathered in clusters at our eyebrows, 
and the whiskered men appeared as if they had been 
powdered by some hairdresser; but we had no sickness. 
We rested two nights in Abbeville, and a fall of snow 
relaxed the intensity of the cold. 

From Abbeville we proceeded to Boulogne, by New- 
pont, Montreuil, and Samair; and at all these places we 
were received with the utmost kindness. 

On our arrival at Boulogne we were quartered in the 
suburbs and adjacent villages, in consequence of the trans¬ 
ports not having arrived for our embarkation. The day 
w T as stormy; sleet and snow fell around us, as we ranged 
about inquiring for our quarters, from one house to ano¬ 
ther, and from that to some remote farm or villa, until 
many, giving up hopes of ever finding a house to admit 
them, returned to the billet-master, procured another 
billet, and set out to find another landlord. We were far 
from ascribing our disappointments to the taciturnity of 
those to whom we applied for instructions, or as guides, 
but to our ignorance of the language in which it would 
have been necessary to address them. 

I had been kept wandering about from hamlet to cot¬ 
tage, and from cottage to hamlet, with my poor wife 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


235 


dripping wet, and almost unable to proceed further, yet 
struggling to get through the miry fields. Having been 
directed to a small house as our quarters, about a furlong 
off the road, we proceeded thither. On approaching the 
door, the surly peasant denied us entrance. I presented 
my billet; he looked upon it, and signified by his com¬ 
prehensive gestures that we had to go over a few fields 
before we could reach the place mentioned in it. At this 
time the snow was fallino- so thick, we could not see the 
house towards which he pointed. However, not to be 
putting off time uselessly disputing about bad quarters, 
we proceeded, and, after passing over a few ridges, came 
to a fortified building, regularly walled and fossed. I 
passed a drawbridge and stood, a most sorry figure in¬ 
deed, knocking at the entrance ; but this was disregarded, 
for no one appeared to admit or challenge me, and the 
place seemed more like a deserted military station than a 
marching soldier’s quarters. I therefore returned disap¬ 
pointed and angry, my poor companion tired and vexed, 
to the cottage from which I had been directed: entered, 
and, throwing off my knapsack, desired my wife to con¬ 
sider this our quarters, and see after getting her clothes 
dried. The landlord became clamorous, and by passionate 
words and o-estures strove to convince me that I could 
not be accommodated; but, as I was well convinced of 
some other one than myself being wrong, by the manner 
in which I had been kept ranging about, I was deter¬ 
mined not to comprehend one word, sign, or gesture of my 
host, and ordered, as I best could, fuel for the hearth ; 
this he refused, or did not comprehend; I therefore, with¬ 
out much ceremony, served myself with a few billets of 


236 


RETROSPECT OF 


wood. Meantime a messenger had been despatched to a 
small village, a few furlongs off*, for a person to settle 
concerning my taking possession. On this persons arrival 
he was presented with the billet, upon which he seemed 
to reason with my landlord as if I had a right to be ad¬ 
mitted ; and after a short conversation aside, the stranger 
turned to me, and in good English requested me to follow 
him; I packed up and accompanied him to the village, 
where I was comfortably quartered in a respectable small 
tavern. From this I had to return to the guard-house 
and apprize the orderly-man of my company where I 
was billeted; for it was a rule, when on the march, 
or in cantonments, to have a man of each company in 
waiting at the guard, so as to be in readiness to go for 
the orderly-sergeant of his company in the event of being 
required. 

This being all settled, and the companies so widely 
scattered about, I made myself certain of not being re¬ 
quired for any regimental purpose that night. I flattered 
myself falsely. I was about retiring to bed, when the 
orderly-man made his appearance, desiring my attendance 
at the quarters of the assistant sergeant-major.* The 
poor lad was covered with mire to the knees, his bonnet 
was like the wings of a drowned raven, and his clothes 
and appointments were the same as if he had passed 
through the English Channel. I accompanied him to the 
place where the sergeants were to assemble, and after 
waiting some time, one of the sergeants observed, “ There 
must be something particular to communicate when we 

* The full sergeant-major (now quartermaster) was quartered at a 
distance of nearly two miles from Boulogne. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


237 


are thus kept waiting, after being brought from such a 
distance and at so late an hour.” “ The orders may be 
particular,” said a second, “ but not express, otherwise 
we should not be detained in this manner waiting for 
them.” A third (M‘Leod) added, “ I’ll be d—d if I wait 
live minutes longer for any man born.” Accordingly he 
departed, and in a few seconds afterwards the assistant 
sergeant-major made his appearance; of course M‘Leod 
was absent, and called to account next morning. A dif¬ 
ference existed between the two, and more angry feelings 
were excited; both were obstinate; M‘Leod was put under 
arrest, from which he was not relieved until the arrival of 
the regiment at Hytlie: there he was tried by a court- 
martial, and acquitted for want of sufficient evidence to 
substantiate the charges.* From that time his disposi¬ 
tion became refractory, and he stood at bay on the most 
trifling points of duty : indeed, to recapitulate the different 
quarrels, misunderstanding, and disagreements between 
him and the other, who had been the cause of that trial ; 
his reducements, his re-appointments, and disappoint¬ 
ments, until he became the taker up of other men’s griev¬ 
ances, would occupy more pages than the limits of these 
sketches can admit. It may be enough to add, that he 
was at last discharged from the regiment, and if with a 
character, an indifferent one,—if with a pension, a trifling 

* M‘Leod was tried for being absent when the orders were issued, 
and for contemptuous language to the assistant sergeant-major; but 
as there was no evidence to support the latter charge, but the prose¬ 
cutor’s, and McLeod denying it, the case was dismissed. M‘Leod 
called for the proceedings of this court-martial afterwards, in order to 
repudiate the evidence of the same individual on one of his after-trials, 
but they could not be found. 


238 


RETROSPECT OF 


one, notwithstanding liis having served about seventeen 
years; and until the time when these cross purposes took 
place, he was considered an exemplary soldier, brave in 
the field, of orderly and peaceable conduct in camp and 
in quarters : his personal appearance was good ; he stood 
upwards of six feet four inches in height. Now, the pur¬ 
port of the orders, for which we were thus called to have 
communicated to us, was of so trivial a nature, that it 
is not to be supposed the commanding-officer would 
have caused the immediate delivery, considering the man¬ 
ner in which we were distributed through the country; 
and the issuing of them by no means affected the accele¬ 
ration or the postponement of any duty or movement. 
All that was communicated was,—that in consequence of 
the transports not having arrived at Boulogne, the regi¬ 
ment was to proceed to Calais for embarkation, halting 
one night at Marquise; and we had been previously 
apprized, though verbally, that we were to embark at 
Calais. Besides, this order did not countermand our 
assembling at the usual hour of the morning for the 
march, when, if ordered, we would have been equally as 
ready to retrograde as to advance. Upon the whole, I 
considered this call as originating with the assistant ser¬ 
geant-major, to show off a little of his own importance in 
the presence of the family on whom he was quartered, or 
to take the advantage of some of the sergeants for non- 
attendance. 

There is nothing more vexatious in a regiment than 
the misfortune of having an obstinate, inconsiderate, petu¬ 
lant, overbearing sergeant-major or assistant. Many are 
the annoyances he can occasion to the non-commissioned 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


239 


officers under him, without ever letting any knowledge of 
them reach the ear of his commanding-officer; and even 
if it should, he is daily in his presence, has every oppor¬ 
tunity of exonerating himself from blame, and if he does 
not succeed in inculpating the complainer, he may at 
least throw a cloud of suspicion around him, and succeed 
in making a very unfavourable impression on the mind of 
the commanding-officer, regarding the man who has had 
the boldness to accuse him. 

A sergeant-major has an arduous duty to perform; in 
all the arrangements of regimental duty, he takes, or 
ought to take, the most active concern. He has of course 
been considered by his promoter a meritorious man, be¬ 
fore he appointed him to this the highest step to which 
a non-commissioned officer can attain; and as it is fre¬ 
quently found necessary to consult him on the interior 
economy of the regiment, if he be possessed of any talents, 
they are sure to be seen and called forth more and more; 
while many a private soldier may be possessed of far 
brighter parts, yet, from not having any opportunity of 
displaying them, he is looked upon, if not with contempt, 
at least with cool indifference. Fortunate is the regiment 
which possesses a good sergeant-major. His rank is not 
such as to make him above associating with and advising 
the non-commissioned officers; his own personal example 
is the means of swaying all their actions; he cautions 
them against unjust oppression, yet shrinks not from 
pointing out the cases which require coercive measures; 
and where his advice fails of its intended effect, he draws 
not back from the consequences to the injury of the indi¬ 
vidual who has acted upon it. He recommends for pro- 


240 


RETROSPECT OF 


motion those who meritoriously aspire to rise from the 
ranks. His commanding-officer is seldom troubled with 
complaints, for he settles them to the satisfaction of the 
accuser and the accused; no mercenary motive actuates 
his conduct in reconciling differences, and his hands are 
never stained with the gift of an inferior. He is like the 
pure mountain-stream, which from inaccessible sources 
derives its never-failing . supply, and sweeps off every 
thing impure from its channel. 

To those who are unacquainted with the influence 
which sergeant-majors generally possess, this may seem a 
hyperbole, but to me it appears a fact, and many a non¬ 
commissioned officer and private soldier has found it so 
to his experience. I speak not of one regiment, but of 
many: he can be a little tyrant in his corps, without the 
knowledge of the commanding-officer; the same as a pay- 
sergeant may be in a company, unknown to his captain; 
his unnecessary acts of oppression may be made to appear 
to his superiors laudable zeal, and his severity a merit 
deserving reward. This same acting sergeant-major’s pro¬ 
motion to be sergeant-major, and afterwards adjutant, 
may show very plainly how a commanding-officer may 
be biassed by a too favourable opinion of an undeserving 
man. And, I make free to say, that of the very few who 
rise from the ranks to commissions, not one in twenty 
recommends himself by his manly merit, but by his 
cringing servility, his forward impudence, or by watching 
well the time when he can show off before superiors 
his authority over men who must obey. Such, generallv, 
are the few who are promoted. Such partial and ill-dis¬ 
criminated promotions, instead of serving as a stimulus 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


241 


to others, create heart-burnings and carelessness. The 
fortunate favourite looks down with contempt on those 
whom he has overstepped, and being intimately ac¬ 
quainted with their merits and their demerits, weak¬ 
nesses, opinions, and prejudices, fails not to make these 
serviceable in mortifying such of them he dreaded as 
rivals. 

In time of war there are some chances of a man proving 
himself deserving by some service of conspicuous merit. 
In such a case, the man would be undeserving the name 
of soldier who would grudge him his well-earned honour 
of reward ; but it is no less than a robbing of the coun¬ 
try, seeing that commissions are sold to gentlemen, edu¬ 
cated and qualified to Hold them, to give one to an 
individual of no influence, and whose only merit may be 
that of being thought well of by his commanding-officer, 
and daily in his presence, but still one who perhaps 
would sell his country, as Esau did his birthright, for a 
morsel of pottage. 

The advocates for promotion from the ranks hold up 
Napoleon’s system of promotion as a pattern for Bri¬ 
tish imitation; but there is a wide difference between 
the constitution of the British army, as it is, and that 
of the French, as it was under that great man. The 
French army was solely composed of men raised by con¬ 
scription ; the rich and the poor, the learned and the 
ignorant, were all liable to serve in the ranks: and the 
army was ever actively employed in trying service, in 
which the real military talent of every man was brought 
to public view by what may be called a fair competition. 
It is not known, moreover, what Napoleon’s views might 

Y 


242 


RETROSPECT OP 


have been regarding promotion, had his active spirit 
permitted him to rest in peace when lie found himself 
thoroughly established on the throne of the Bourbons. 
Besides, it would not have been good policy in him to 
have confined his patronage to the great, who might have 
considered themselves degraded by submitting to a ruler 
of meaner ancestry than their own. Thus promotion from 
the ranks was the consolidation of his power. 

In time of peace there must be another criterion whereby 
to judge of the merit of a candidate for military promotion 
than that of his commanding-officer’s easily biassed opinion. 
And I must add, that soldiers like better to have men of 
fortune and family influence over them than needy aspir¬ 
ants. From the man of interest the soldier may expect, 
when the period of his service is expired, and when he is 
creditably discharged, a recommendation which may be 
successful in obtaining for him a comfortable situation: 
such as that of a storekeeper or barrack-sergeant, a police- 
officer, letter-carrier,* porter to one of the public offices, 
civil or military, the keeper of a lodge, the ranger of a 
forest, &c., according to the abilities he may be possessed 
of to enable him to hold any of those situations. The 
needy man is generally the greedy man, he wants the 
soldier’s service for nothing, and he has so many demands 
for his own personal advancement, that lie cannot or will 
not exert himself in behalf of an inferior. 

After this unnecessary call and vexatious detention, 
we were permitted to return to our quarters, and commu¬ 
nicate the orders to the officers and men at the time 
which they should have been given to ourselves, viz., 
when the regiment assembled in the morning. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


243 


Marquise is a small straggling village a few miles from 
Boulogne; in it we were quartered one night; next day, 
the 17th of December, we reached Calais and embarked. 
Our vessels steered for Dover, but that in which my 
company was on board, meeting with a contrary wind or 
current, made for Ramsgate; this was the means of keep¬ 
ing us a day longer at sea. 


244 


RETROSPECT OP 


CHAPTER XY. 

Passage to Ramsgate.—March to Hythe, Chelmsford, and Sunder¬ 
land.—March to Edinburgh, and Reception there.—Concluding 
Observations. 

Government provides amply enough for the accommoda¬ 
tion of troops on long voyages; a passage such as this, 
from Calais to Dover, or to Ramsgate, is not deserving the 
name of voyage: the distance is so inconsiderable, that the 
time of performing it can be pretty closely calculated, and 
accommodation or comfort is not looked for or much 
regarded by passengers; but in the event of unexpected 
delays, it becomes the more unpleasant as it is unpro¬ 
vided for. We look back on the receding shores of that 
country which we have left, and forward to those for 
which we are bound; yet the wind drives us back from 
the latter as we attempt to approach, and the waves repel 
us from the former as we seem to recede : cold blasts chill 
our limbs on deck, and the crowded hold emits its sicken¬ 
ing, foul, repulsive breath ; yet the voice of mirth is there, 
and the man is best worthy of the world that rejoices in 
the world and makes the most of it. Let the storm rage 
around us, we shall descend to the laughter-loving crowd: 
mirth is more desirable than sorrow; there we shall wit¬ 
ness the shouts of merriment that occasionally convulse 
the throng, even although at our own sea-sick expense. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


24 5 


Here, full of harmless gaiety, sits Kate, the wife of 
Edward M‘Kay; time has not yet put an aged wrinkle 
on her brow T , and with a pleasant cheerful countenance and 
handsome person, she is gifted with that readiness of 
reply for which the sons and daughters of our sister island 
are so greatly and so justly famed; she sits, the centre of 
the merry circle; to her the talkative direct their rude 
witticisms, and her repartees fly back with well-directed 
aim,—to the sweet with sweetness, and to the bitter with 
bitterness. Kate was what we call an old campaigner; 
that is, she had seen more than one campaign, and could 
take her own part with any woman on board. The green¬ 
horns were repulsed by the sharpness of her remarks, and 
the profane found little to boast of in their profanity by 
the acrimonious retort it so w r ell merited. 

And yonder sit a few’ together, in pensive silence. 
This is no fit place for the modest matron or the virtuous 
wife ; but she must submit, without complaining, to her 
adverse lot. 

There is nothing perhaps more unpleasant to a woman 
of any virtuous principle than that of being so situated, as 
to be under the necessity of listening to the gross lascivi¬ 
ous remarks of vulgar wit, from which she has no oppor¬ 
tunity to withdraw herself; for, if she repulses them with 
scorn after having sanctioned them with a smile, she is 
accused of cunning, and her female companions, whom 
perhaps envy or ill-nature prompts to slander, fail not to 
offer their censorious remarks and insinuations regarding 
her conduct, when less submitted to observation. 

I have heard of a Dutch artist who never drew the in¬ 
terior of a domicile without introducing into his picture 

y 3 


246 


RETROSPECT OF 


an utensil which decent chambermaids keep out of sight; 
and I might no less trespass upon the delicacy of my 
reader, were I to enlarge on all the causes of mirth that 

' o 

shake the crowded hold. 

Night casts its murky mantle over our troubled path, 
as our vessel labours to gain the destined port; we look 
for a place to rest, but in vain; and our disappointment 
meets with no condolence, but affords cause of more 
mirth. Thus the hours that fly hastily in our enjoyments, 
seem to linger in our affliction, and to lengthen our term 
of uneasiness. The sweet land of our expected repose, 
however, was not far distant. We were now approaching 
Ramsgate, after being two days at sea, and a heavy swell 
beat along the coast; our sails were lowered, the impulse 
they had already given the vessel seemed sufficient to 
carry her into the harbour. The soldiers stood crowded 
on deck; whether they gave any interruption to the ma¬ 
nagement of the helm or stood in the way of the seamen 
may be uncertain, but the prow struck on the pier. The 
shock was like that of an earthquake; the men on deck 
staggered forward, fell down, or fortunately grasped a 
rope, as the vessel heeled back on the north side of the 
pier. Happily the quay was crowded with spectators to 
witness our debarkation, and by their means we regained 
the harbour without any loss, landed all in good health, 
and were received with kindly greetings by the assembled 
multitude that waited our arrival. A heavy fall of snow 
hastened our departure for Sandwich, where we were 
quartered for the night. 

We proceeded by Deal and Dover to Hythe, where 
we lay two weeks refitting ourselves in necessaries and 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


247 


military appointments. From Hythe we marched to 
Chelmsford, by Ashford, Feversham, Chatham, Graves¬ 
end, Brentwood, and Ingatstone. 

After beino- two weeks in Chelmsford Barracks, we 
took the route for Sunderland, a long march and in 
an unpleasant season; but such was the reception we 
met with at every town where we halted, either for an 
hour or for a night, that although the roads had been 
as bad as those in Spain, and the weather worse than it 
happened to be, we would have considered ourselves more 
than recompensed by the kindly welcome we received from 
the inhabitants. The munificent hands of all classes 
poured in their offerings to fill the cup of cordial kindness 
that sparkled to our lips at our approach. Without 
doubt, many of us disappointed the expectation of our 
generous benefactors, for the gifts bestowed were fre¬ 
quently intended to benefit the landlord on whom we 
were billeted, and in whose house they were expected 
to be expended; notwithstanding, they were often de¬ 
voted to another, and sometimes to another town. An 
innkeeper may pardon the meanness of a soldier who 
refuses to expend at his bar that money which a generous 
patron lias given for that purpose; but he cannot be ex¬ 
pected to feel pleased by the ungrateful receiver spending 
it at another, perhaps that of a rival, and then returning 
intoxicated to claim the privilege of a lodger. If such 
was done by some, I trust they were the few of the de¬ 
spised number. 

We left Chelmsford on the 16th* January, 1816, and 

* The regiment marched in two divisions, and that which the author 
accompanied was the second. 


248 


RETROSPECT OF 


were received very kindly at Dunmow and Saffron Wal¬ 
den. The bells of Cambridge welcomed us with joy. 
Every table smoked with savoury viands for our enter¬ 
tainment, and every cellar contributed a liberal supply of 
its best October for our refreshment. AV r e were per¬ 
mitted to enter the buildings of the University, and to 
gratify our curiosity by viewing whatever was worthy of 
admiration, and, of course, every part of that venerable 
pile of buildings is deserving the regard of the visitor. 
We were also presented with a donation equal to two 
day’s pay to each man. 

On approaching Huntingdon, a halt was made at the 
request of a gentleman, who treated us to a hearty re¬ 
freshment before we entered the town. On entering, the 
bells rung a merry peal, and we had free entertainment as 
at Cambridge. There was a present of some money made 
here for our women, as well as for the men; that for the 
men was distributed; that for the women (of the second 
division) amounted to two pounds, and was handed over 
by Col. Dick* to Lieut. F., but this gentleman perhaps 
despised any ostentatious display of what he might have 
considered charity, and I never heard of its distribution. 

Stilton, Stamford, and Grantham, welcomed us with the 
usual greetings; bells ringing merry peals, and the inha¬ 
bitants cheering with joyful shouts as we approached 
their hospitable boundaries. At Newark we were not 
only received with the same demonstration of kindly 
welcoming and entertainment, but eacli man received a 

* Colonel Dick commanded the first division, which, of course, pre¬ 
ceded the second by one day's stage ; but he waited in Huntingdon 
until the latter marched in. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


249 


day’s pay, being a gratuity from the magistrates. At 
Doncaster we were equally well received. Saturday 
being tlie day on which we entered, many of the respect¬ 
able tradesmen met in the evening at the taverns, to spend 
a few hours at the social board, and they had the kind¬ 
ness to invite the soldiers billeted therein to enjoy the 
passing pleasures of the pot and pipe, song and conversa¬ 
tion. Pomfret was no less kind, while Wetherby and 
Boroughbridge, it may be said, excelled those towns 
which had shown the greatest liberality towards us; even 
our women were presented with an allowance of tea and 
sugar, and the soldiers with tobacco, for soldiers as well 
as sailors like the fragrant leaf. It was truly gratifying, 
on approaching one of those towns, to see the youth regi¬ 
mented and drawn up in their best holiday suits, with 
flags unfurled, and accompanied with music, welcoming 
us to their cheerful happy homes. 

Northallerton and Darlington received us with every 
mark of esteem, and we entered Durham amidst the loud 
cheering of thousands and the merry peals of all the city 
bells. A donation equal to two days’ pay was presented 
to each man, besides free entertainment in the respective 
houses in which we were quartered. 

As we passed through the pleasant village of Hough- 
ton-le-Spring, we were halted and presented with an 
excellent refreshment. Congratulatory effusions from the 
pen of one of its generous sons appeared in print the fol¬ 
lowing day, and were much admired by us in whose praise 
they were composed. From Houghton-le-Spring we re¬ 
continued our march to Sunderland, where the first divi¬ 
sion of the regiment had arrived the previous day. It 



250 


IlETROSPECT OP 


being Sunday, a rather unusual day for troops marching 
in the time of peace, and in religious England too, an 
immense concourse of inhabitants met us on the way to 
welcome us to barracks. 

We remained in Sunderland upwards of four weeks, 
during which time we were joined by the depot of the 
regiment from Scotland, and we again formed a pretty 
strong body. 

On the 9th March we left Sunderland, where we had 
experienced much kindness, and proceeded on our route 
for Scotland. 

Newcastle welcomed us in the same congratulatory 
manner as«we had been received at Cambridge, Newark, 
and Durham. Morpeth, though a small town, was no less 
liberal in its manifestation of its good will towards us. I 
should be ungrateful not to record the kindness of Mr. 
Watson, one of its local magistrates or aldermen. With 
him I spent an agreeable evening, so far as he could make 
it so. It was his wish to hear and learn of Waterloo, 
and for this purpose he had personally invited the acting 
sergeant-major of the division (not the assistant sergeant- 
major before mentioned); but as this sergeant had not 
been with the regiment at Waterloo, Mr. W. requested 
him to invite one who had been there to accompany him. 
I was thus indebted to chance for the invitation. I am 
certain, however, that Mr. W. heard less of what he 
wanted to hear, than he did of that which he did not 
want to learn; for my more communicative neighbour 
engrossed the whole conversation, and I envied him not, 
for I suppose he had heard enough of Waterloo talk to 
make him peevish at hearing more about it. Should this 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


251 


memoir ever reach the eye of Mr. Watson, I trust it will 
show to him that I remember his kindness with grati- 
tude ; may he live long to enjoy the fortune, which, by 
the blessing of Providence and his own exertions, he has 
been enabled to realize. 

On entering Alnwick and receiving our billets, we were 
made acquainted that his grace the Duke of Northumber¬ 
land had been pleased, through his agent, to order enter¬ 
tainment for each man in his respective quarters; and 
before we broke ranks, three hearty cheers were given as 
a “ So be it,” to the exclamation of “ Long live the noble 
family of Percy!” 

What recollections must not this manner of receiving 

© 

us awaken in the minds of our border historians! When 
we look back to the days when England strove against 
Scotland, and Scotland against England ; when the spear 
of the Percy was struck at the gate of the Douglas, and 
the sword of the Douglas was a firebrand at the threshold 
of the Percy. We now see the sons of the fathers’ foes 
receive us with cordial welcomings; and we, the children 
of the north, rejoice in the blessings which those of the 
south have taught us to appreciate. 

We are now fast approaching our own blue bleak 
mountains; Belford is already behind, even Haggartston ' 
is in the rear; the lovely Tweed is in view ; the cold hills 
of the north rise in the distance, while the snow falls 
thick around us. 

England ! we leave thee now behind; thou hast shown 
us too much kindness; if thy bounty and liberality has 
been in any instance abused, forgive our little knowledge 
of manners; for although our deportment may have been 







RETROSPECT OF 


9 no 

rude and apparently thankless, we nevertheless appreciate 
thy many acts of kindness bestowed upon us; not as upon 
mendicants, but as upon favourite children, and as such 
we have accepted and shall think of them with gratitude. 
If ever thou hast occasion for assistance to repel an in¬ 
vader or to attack a foe, call from those mountains the 
plaided sons of Caledonia, whom thy hospitality has 
taught to be grateful, and on whose hearts thy kindness 
lias made a deep impression. 

We rested two nights in Berwick, one in Ayton, and 
one in Dunbar; passed on for Haddington, but were 
halted at Linton, where we were treated in the same 
manner as we had been at Houghton-le-Spring. 

We rested one night in Haddington and proceeded 
next day for Edinburgh, but were halted at the town-hall 
of Musselburgh, where a comfortable refreshment was 
placed before us, and to which ample justice was done. 
At Portobello an immense concourse of people were as¬ 
sembled to meet and welcome us. At Piershill the me¬ 
tropolis seemed to pour out the stream of its population 
to congratulate us on our approach, and to welcome us to 
;ts arms. Advance seemed impracticable, from the density 
of the surrounding multitude: from this a guard of ca- 
valry, with its band of music, preceded us. Thus accom¬ 
panied, we entered the city amidst the loud cheering and 
congratulatory acclamations of friends; while over our 
heads, from a thousand windows, waved as many ban¬ 
ners, plaided scarfs, or other symbols of courtly greetings. 

We entered the castle, proud of the most distinguished 
reception that ever a regiment had met with from a grate¬ 
ful country. Two nights we w’ere admitted free to the 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


253 


Theatre, two to the Olympic Circus, two days to the 
panoramic view of Waterloo; and to conclude our trium¬ 
phal rejoicings, after removing from the castle to Queens- 
berry House Barracks, an entertainment was provided 
for us in the Assembly Rooms, George’s Street, to which 
the noblemen and gentlemen contributors came, and Avit- 
nessed the glee with which we enjoyed their hospitality. 
The drink was of the best, and fame tells a lie if the beer 
was not mixed with strong-ale or spirits; and so plenti¬ 
fully was it supplied by active waiters during the dinner, 
that before the cloth was withdrawn we were very hearty. 
We enjoyed the glass till nearly sunset, by which time 
there was scarcely a man at the table but thought himself 
qualified to sing a song, make a speech, or give a toast, and 
not a few attempted to do the whole; and, if we had been 
allowed an hour’s longer enjoyment, the heroes of Waterloo 
would have been prostrated under that table at which they 
had so latelv sat in glorious glee, and all their laurels 
scattered in the dust. 

We staggered out, bonnets falling off in all directions, 
got into our ranks, and marched off as if a whirlwind had 
been blowing amongst us and sweeping us out of our 
ranks. There lay one prostrate; another, attempting to 
raise him up, fell over him; while the loose folds of the , 
kilt lapped upwards, and thus left his thighs uncurtained 
to the view of the numerous spectators who were looking 
down from the windows. Some ladies endeavoured to 
withdraw from tine indelicate exhibition, but were so 
closely pent up by others, that they rendered themselves 
?nore prominent by their ineffectual struggles to retire. 

We reached the North Bridge without leaving a man 

z 






254 


RETROSPECT OF 


behind, but there we began to drop in couples, and 
although it was a calm pleasant afternoon, our heads were 
knocking against the balustrades of the bridge as if driven 
upon them by the violence of a tempest. 

By the time our front files got to our barracks, the rear 
was broken, and groping or sprawling their way down 
the High Street. No lives were lost, though many a 
bonnet and kilt changed owners, and not a few disap¬ 
peared entirely. 

Brief as this account is of the reception we met with, 
I make no doubt, but there are some who may think I 
have stated too much, particularly regarding our carousals; 
but to those who may think my observations uncalled for, 
I beg leave to say, they are just, and that I wish there 
had been less occasion for any remarks, for I have been 
extremely sparing in self-chastisement, and do not invite 
another to lift the rod. A candid confession from the lips 
of the guilty, ought to be more readily pardoned than 
when he is obliged by another to acknowledge his error. 

I feel myself called upon, before concluding this chap¬ 
ter, to offer some apologetical explanation regarding these 
memoirs; doubtless it would have been more appropriately 
placed as introductory matter in the first chapter, but I 
presume there is no great trespass in introducing it here. 

From my entering the service in 1803, until 1811, I 
kept a journal of what I thought worthy of recording. 
This journal I composed in rhyme, and, to tell the truth, I 
thought it poetry. In 1811, I purchased a grammar, and 
after studying it a little, I was enabled to discover that I 
had trespassed against every rule of the art And al¬ 
though there was nothing indelicate or offensive in my 






A MILITARY LIFE. 


2 55 


work, yet I was vexed that I had been so silly as to show it 
to men of learning, and committed it to the flames. Still 
I was bent on journalizing, and having once commenced 
in ryhme, I felt no inclination to discontinue; more par¬ 
ticularly so, as my transfer of service to the line would 
doubtless enable me to witness events more worthy of 
record. Having burned my former journal, I commenced 
my new one on my landing in Spain in 1813, and carried 
it on until 1816. 

But what could be supposed to proceed from the pen of 
one who during his life had been almost a stranger to books,, 
even to a dictionary ? Useless in many respects as my efforts 
may be supposed to have been, yet they were not alto¬ 
gether so to myself. My scribbling vein was an amuse¬ 
ment when on guard, and it was chiefly when I was on 
guard that I did write, as I found other exercise at other 
times; and I seldom lay down on the bench or the green 
turf to sleep, but sat writing and sometimes reading; the 
latter very seldom; but when I did, was pleased with the 
approval of those who were as little capable of judging of 
the merit of the work as I was myself. In 1816 I ceased 
journalizing; with one duty or another, I found little time. 
I endeavoured, however, to correct what I had written, 
and was very proud to receive the flattering opinion of 
some of my superiors regarding the subject; and I must 
here confess, that two or three copies of this doggrel 
rhyme (which perhaps would have been considered not so 
bad in the days of the Edwards and the Bruces, but was 
really contemptible for the age of the Georges) were put 
into the hands of a few whom I considered my friends. 

In 1827 I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted 




256 


RETROSPECT OP 


with a gentleman who had an excellent library at his com¬ 
mand, and by him was favoured with the perusal of some 
excellent hooks. I now began to see my rhyming journal, 
from 1813 to 1816, in almost the same contemptible light 
as I had done the preceding one which I had burned, and 
I set to remodel my manuscript. I therefore had only to 
transpose the subject of my rhyme to prose, and then 
question myself which of the two was the better. 

I trust the reader will now perceive my reason for offer¬ 
ing an apology in the concluding part of this chapter. 
My rhyme journal, which my illiterate vanity made me 
think poetry, and from which I may say all but the first 
three chapters is a transposition, will partly account for 
some apostrophes which may be thought not altogether 
consistent with prose writing. If these in any respects 
violate the legitimate rules of composition and good taste., 
or approach to what some may call “ prose run mad,” I 
am to blame, and humbly apologize. 

Having thus far brought my journal to a period of 
peace, and I may say, to the spot from which I set out for 
active service, I shall conclude this chapter. If what I 
have already said be uninteresting, offensive, or puerile, 
and consequently censurable, I have said too much ; if it 
merit the kind attention and approbation of those whom 
I have always endeavoured to please, then am I suffi¬ 
ciently rewarded, and I shall look back on the past with 
pleasure, and forward to the future with comfort. 




A MILITARY LIFE. 


257 


CHAPTER XVI. 

Glasgow. — Ireland.— Famine, Sickness, and Poverty. — Omagh.— 
McLennan.—Dundalk, and burning of Wildgoose Lodge. 

Our departure from Edinburgh was rather sudden and 
unexpected. One of those ebullitions of discontent and 
disaffection, so often manifested in large manufacturing 
towns, began to burst forth in Glasgow, and we were 
ordered off to that city. We arrived there on the 9th of 
September, 1816, and from common report were led to 
believe that the feelings of the operatives were far from 
being well disposed towards the civil authorities, and, if 
possible, still more dissatisfied with their employers (the 
manufacturers), whom they accused of having unneces¬ 
sarily reduced the rate of wages. Whatever truth there 
may have been in this accusation against the manufac- 
turers I am not enabled to state, but the steps taken by 
the workmen were better adapted for putting a stop to 
the trade of Glasgow than for the promotion of their own 
interest; for no man of capital could hazard the continu¬ 
ance of it in trade, in a place where the workmen would 
assume the right of dictating to him how he should 
employ and pay them. 

About the commencement of 1817, the spirit of disaf¬ 
fection began to assume a more offensive aspect than for 

z 3 



258 


RETROSPECT OP 


some weeks previously; and, excited by itinerant orators 
and delegates from kindred associations at Manchester and 
other manufacturing towns, it seemed to feel secure in the 
strength of numbers and in the stability of its widely 
spreading ramifications. Meetings were held in different 
houses, and large bodies assembled occasionally in the 
field; more as a physical force display than for the pur¬ 
pose of hearing what was to be said, for the field orator’s 
voice could not be heard at the extremity of the crowd, 
but it was responded to as loudly by those who were be¬ 
yond as by those who were within its reach. “ Bread or 
blood!” was a threatening exclamation familiar in the 
mouths of these itinerant orators; and such as were the 
loudest clamourers were those who were suffering the 
least by the complained of grievances. There is no deny¬ 
ing, however, that between the dearth of provisions and 
low wages, the poor operatives were suffering much; but 
the means taken to better their condition were just such 
as only tended to render it worse. Men for years accus¬ 
tomed to earn from three to six shillings a day, without 
saving a sixpence, could not be expected to remain satis¬ 
fied with one or two, out of which they had to contribute 
towards an operative fund for the relief of those who had 
no work, or, I may rather say, would not work ; and this 
last class consisted of the men who had been for several 
years earning upwards of five shillings per day, and were 
now receiving a weekly allowance from the funds equal 
to what the poorer mechanic could earn in the best times 
of trade. Besides, the managers, over whom there was and 
could be no legal control, preyed like voracious harpies on 
the funds, and received the thanks of the unsuspecting 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


259 


contributors, from whose tables the last crust of bread had 
disappeared, and want stared them in the face when they 
were told that the funds were exhausted. Then the poor 
operative saw, when too late, what had been the inten¬ 
tion of those pretended advocates of his rights for exciting 
him to demand that which the manufacturer could not 
give. 

Every meeting that was called by those agitating 
demagogues was attended with an appeal for money to 
defray expenses, and every measure taken by the magis¬ 
trates or gentry to allay the disturbances and to relieve 
distress, where it actually existed, became a subject of 
censure in the mouths of those self-styled patriots. If a 
ball was given by the wealthy for a charitable purpose, it 
was obnoxious, because the money might have been given 
without the donors indulging themselves in any enjoy¬ 
ment. In short, those liberalists were for denying all 
liberty, save that which they usurped for themselves, in 
being the tyrants to command and oppress others. 

Reports were in circulation at this time (perhaps the 
reports of the notorious inciters to violence), that an 
attack was intended to be made on the barracks. And, 
in the belief that such was to be attempted, the regiment 
was kept under arms, the one half in the barrack- rooms 
and the other half as a picquet on parade, during the 
night, ready to sally out if ordered. Artillery was brought 
from Leith and cavalry from Hamilton, and for three 
days our barrack gate remained shut: no inhabitant was 
allowed to enter the wicket, save on urgent business. 

Indeed, there was said to be a prevailing opinion on the 
public mind, at least among the disaffected, that the 


260 


RETROSPECT OF 


regiment would not act offensively against its own coun¬ 
trymen, if called upon to do so. But if my feeble voice 
could have any force in undeceiving those who on similar 
occasions may be likely to believe such reports, I should 
pray them not to trust to the clemency of the military, 
for of a surety if they do they will be deceived. I speak 
from a thorough knowledge of the general disposition of 
those with whom I have long associated, when I say, 
that instead of reluctance there would be an eager de¬ 
sire on the part of the military to support the constituted 
authorities, if called upon for that purpose. 

I trust my stating this, as being the disposition of the 
soldiers, will not be thought an erroneous opinion of my 
own, unsupported by any proof. Indeed, there could be too 
many proofs adduced of the soldiers’ readiness to act at 
command, without questioning whether the blood to be 
shed is that of a friend or of an alien. What mercy are 
soldiers to expect from the hands of an ungovernable 
mob ? Perhaps such as the Swiss Guards met with from 
the hands of the French revolutionists: Death! And 
such the soldiers must be ready not only to avert, but to 
resist and defy. 

It is a mistaken notion of any one to suppose that sol¬ 
diers, if called upon to act offensively against their coun¬ 
trymen, will refuse. 

The ranks of a standing army, though composed of the 
sons of the working people, become by usage estranged 
from the political creeds and local grievances that excite 
cities, towns, and provinces to resist the civil magistrate; 
and as the army is trained to support the executive 
authority, it is not to be thought but the soldiers’ preju- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


261 


dices, regarding civil rights, are more likely to flow in an 
opposite direction, than in unison with the current of the 
people’s inclination. 

At the time when public excitement was at its height, 
a small party under the command of a sergeant was re¬ 
turning from Anderston, where it had been for the protec¬ 
tion of some of the workmen who were inclined to work, 
and for that reason of course obnoxious to the outstanders. 
The party was followed by a crow T d of unemployed youths 
and other idle persons, anxious to wdtness or to commit a 
breach of the peace. The crowd increased to a tumultuary 
mob; some missiles were thrown, and symptoms of vio¬ 
lence manifested towards the party. One of the soldiers, 
being struck, discharged his piece; the shot took effect, 
and his comrades, whose muskets were all loaded, were 
ready to follow his example; but the sergeant, who was 
a very powerful man, succeeded either by threatening or 
exhortation in preventing further bloodshed. 

There was very little clamour made about this affair, 
and the disaffected from that day became less violent, and 
that effervescence of local turbulence, which had been 
going on for several months, gradually died away, and 
our regimental and public duties ran in their wonted easy 
channel. 

In May 1817 we received the route for Ireland. We 
arrived there that same month, and were quartered in the 
towns of Armagh and Newry, from both of which places 
the regiment sent out detachments to garrison a number 
of small villages within a circle of about ten miles from 
those towns. 

Armagh had been the head-quarters of the regiment in 


262 


RETROSPECT OP 


1808, and it was the same on this occasion. Newry had 
also been the station of a regimental detachment at that 
time, and it was so on this; and in consequence of the 
general good feeling which had then existed between the 
inhabitants and the soldiers, we were welcomed with no 
ordinary degree of rejoicing; that is to say, if people 
borne down by famine and sickness can be said to re¬ 
joice. For at that time a very distressing famine pre¬ 
vailed over all the province of Ulster : the potatoes, which 
constitute the principal food of the inhabitants, in plenti¬ 
ful years are usually sold at two-pence or three-pence per 
stone, but this year the same quantity was selling at 
eighteen-pence, and they were scarcely fit for the use of 
man or beast; frosted and bitter to the taste, the one-half 
had to be cast to the ash-pit. Yet on this food many of 
the people supported themselves without complaining. 
Such was the dearth of provisions, that the soldiers re¬ 
ceived an increase of three-pence per day of pay. The 
mail and stage-coaches were surrounded, on their arrival 
and departure, by crowds of poor famishing females, with 
squalid children pulling at their milkless breasts, or tug¬ 
ging at the wretched rags that scarcely covered their 
mothers nakedness. Every countenance was marked by 
affliction; the voice of the mother calling for charity, and 
the children imploring the mother for food, of which she 
had none to give. So accustomed were passengers to 
those applications for alms, that their hearts became cal¬ 
lous to the voice of supplication; the exhausted hand of 
charity shrunk from relieving the poor, and they were left 
to perish in a land far famed for hospitality; but the 
sources were now dried up, and no bold advocate pleaded 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


263 


for assistance or relief within the walls of the British par¬ 
liament-house. I have seen some of the miserable indi- 
gents collecting the offals thrown by the soldiers to the 
ash-pits, and eating the heterogeneous mess, the collection 
of a day, and the mixed slops from all the tables. 

A severe fever was raging at the same time, and many 
a poor friendless female who had flirted in thoughtless 
gaiety, and supported herself at the expense of her easy 
condescension, no sooner caught the prevailing sickness, 
than she was turned to the fields, under the pretext, per¬ 
haps, of breathing a purer air than under the low ill- 
thatched roof of a crowded and ill-ventilated cabin. A 
few feeble branches, placed diagonally against a wall, 
or under a hedge, formed a simple shed, not to protect 
from rain, scarcely from the night dew, but to mark the 
spot where the poor sufferer lay, and which the healthy 
or the timorous might shun. Perhaps some of her former 
frail sisterhood, labouring under the germs of sickness, 
came to offer the little attentions they could bestow, and 
pitched beside the afflicted their miserable sickly camp. 
Goldsmith may perhaps have seen such a scene as this, 
when he calls on the friend of truth to survey the rich 
mans joys increase the poors decay, and exclaims,— 

.-“ Ah ! turn thine eyes 

Where the poor houseless shivering female lies. 

She once, perhaps, in village plenty bless’d, 

Has wept at tales of innocence distress’d ; 

Her modest looks the cottage might adorn, 

Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn ; 

Now lost to all,—her friends, her virtue fled,— 

Near her betrayer’s door she lays her head ; 

And pinch’d with cold, and shrinking from the shower, 

With heavy heart deplores that luckless hour, 



264 


RETROSPECT OF 


When idly first, ambitious of the town, 

She left her wheel and robes of country brown.” 

Many a donation is kindly bequeathed for charitable 
purposes, too many of which tend only to promote or en¬ 
courage luxury or idleness; but that which is devoted to 
the reclaiming of the poor unfortunate prostitute, is charity 
indeed; charity, alike creditable to the giver, beneficial 
to the country, and pleasing to God. 

Let not those who move in the higher walks of life 

look down with scornful disregard on the frail child of 

wanton levity, because fortune has placed their own 

daughters beyond the probable danger of temptation; can 

they say that their sons have not seduced and deserted 

* 

the too easily persuaded girl ? We see this one to day in 
all the gaiety of dress, with all the insinuating little blan¬ 
dishments she can assume, the smile of happiness appears 
to mantle on her lip; but the friend, if she has a real 
one, who knows her heart, or herself alone, can best tell 
how her moments of retirement pass away. Tears are 
often mixed in the cup as it approaches her lip, when 
she thinks of a parent dishonoured, a brother outraged, 
a sister incensed, and a once happy circle of friends for 
ever alienated; not one to drg,w her from her degraded 
£tate, until her rapid course of dissipation withers every 
charm she might have once possessed, the infirmities of 
age approach before youth may be said to have departed, 
and without a character, she becomes a disregarded house¬ 
less pauper, or the inmate of an hospital; and when the 
pulse ceases to beat, her body may become a subject for 
the dissecting-table. 

During this time of unprecedented distress in the pro* 


A MILITARY LIFE 


265 


vince of Ulster, I heard of no extraordinary exertions 
making to raise subscriptions for the relief of the famish¬ 
ing. Some generous landlords exerted themselves greatly 
to alleviate the distress of their own tenantry; yet this 
was but a partial relief. 

Five years after this famine of 1817, I happened to be 
quartered in the province of Munster, where a similar cala¬ 
mity was said to exist, and for the relief of the famishing, 
a very munificent grant was voted by government, and 
immense sums were contributed by the benevolent of the 
whole empire; yet to compare the dearth and famine of 
1822 with that of 1817, would be like comparing the Tees 
to the Thames, the Aye to the Tweed, or the Deal to the 
Shannon; but more of this afterwards. 

The detachment stationed at Newry, after having been 
quartered there about nine months, was ordered, in Fe¬ 
bruary 1818, to Omagh, Strabane, Lifford, and several 
villages in the neighbourhood of those places. 

Omagh is the assize town of the county Tyrone. The 
barrack at that time was, and perhaps still is, the pro¬ 
perty of one of the inhabitants. By some accident, that 
part occupied by the captain commanding the detachment 
took fire; and had it not been for the timely exertions of 
the party, as well as of the inhabitants, the whole barrack 
would have been consumed, with other attached build¬ 
ings. I cannot omit noticing the particular exertions of 
one of the men on this occasion. 

McLennan was a slender, poor looking, shaughling sort 
of a fellow, but as bold a spirit as was in the regiment; 
he was about thirty years of age, and not exceeding five 
feet five inches in height ; his long face was marked by 


A A 


266 


RETROSPECT OF 


some scars, one of which had laid his nose flat between 
his eyes and mouth. On the continental campaigns, he 
was known as a good duty-man, and a never failing 
fellow on the march; but he was better known, among 
his messmates, as a most enterprising and successful fo¬ 
rager; and throughout the regiment he was known by 
the nickname of “ Cho Sho.” He was one of those who 
would at any time risk punishment rather than forego 
one intoxicating draught, when within his reach, or 
decline assisting a comrade in any hazardous enterprise. 
The latter may be commendable occasionally, the former 
never; but it is a standing vice among the soldiers of 
all nations.* 

When the alarm was given, McLennan flew to the 
spot, whilst others were preparing to go; he rushed into 
the room where the flames had burst forth; the suffo- 

* It lias been asserted by several writers that tlie soldiers of some 
countries are exemplary for sobriety. I should like to know where 
those pattern states are to be found. I am no advocate for vice of 
any kind, far less for intemperance ; but justice should be shown. I 
have seen the Russians, and they are none of the temperate class. 
The Prussians are hearty drinkers, and the Germans are like the 
English, Irish, and Scotch, refusing nothing in the way of drink. 
I speak in general terms. The French, the Portuguese, and Spaniards 
are all alike in their intemperance, when they have the means of grati¬ 
fying their desires ; but their means are so limited, if compared with 
those of a British soldier, that they must fast a fortnight to enable 
them to command as much as the latter can have at his disposal in 
one day: it is easy therefore to boast of their temperance, when they 
have nothing wherewith to be intemperate. Besides, the manner in 
which the troops of these nations are raised gives a decided advantage 
to the chance of having sober men. They are generally raised by 
conscription and forced to serve. With us, we hold out the induce¬ 
ment of a bounty ; and the man who has overrun his score in the ale¬ 
house, takes the advantage of rubbing it out by enlisting. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


267 

eating smoke, mixed with flame, was bursting out at the 
door, the glass of the window was shivered and melting 
from the burning frame. The captain’s servant had en¬ 
tered this apartment on purpose to take down the curtains 
of a bed which had caught the fire; but, enveloped in 
smoke and flame, singed and almost suffocated, and un¬ 
able to make his escape, he fell down against the door. 
Cho Sko heard his voice, seized him by the arm, and 
dragged him out at the hazard of his own life. 

Having saved this man, and actively assisted in sub¬ 
duing the flames where they had at first made their ap¬ 
pearance, he flew to the other apartments which the 
fire had reached; and where the greatest danger was, 
there w r as he, like one of those figures which may be seen 
representing fiends in a picture of hell, tearing up and 
pouring down, until the flames were filially smothered 
and the fire extinguished. 

It would no doubt have afforded some satisfaction to 
the captain to have been able to recompense this intrepid 
man in a manner which would have proved beneficial to 
him afterwards, but McLennan’s careless habits of life put 
this out of his power. 

It is well, whatever may be said to the contrary, that 
our country leaves not improvident careless characters 
such as this to destitution, when their services are for no 
further public use. They serve it in the battle-field, or 
hour of danger, as well as those of a more sanctimonious 
exterior, and their pensions, however ill spent, are as 
hardly earned. 

In times of war, the courage of a puny, shaughling 
soldier may gain him a character superior to that of a 

a a 2 


268 


RETROSPECT OF 


good-looking grenadier; he may also excel in bearing up 
amidst privations which overpower others of a more 
favourable exterior; but when a series of years of peace 
rolls past, and no strife-stirring calls arise to bring those 
martial virtues into notice, the puny or ill-favoured ought 
to have some redeeming qualifications in their dispositions, 
since they have so little in their persons, and instead of 
showing a vicious propensity to drunkenness and quarrel¬ 
ing, be exemplary for sobriety and good conduct. For, 
in the army, we find that a man’s good appearance is 
often more useful to him than a flattering testimonial 
of character is to an indifferent looking one; and the 
former will get over a scrape with a reprimand, when 
the latter may meet with punishment. 

Poor McLennan passed without any substantial acknow¬ 
ledgment ; and it would have been ill-bestowed although 
it had been made, as he foolishly hastened his own death 
by his intemperance, of which I shall soon take notice. 

The regiment having received the route, in June 1818, 
for Dundalk, the detachments were all ordered in to 
Armagh, whence the whole proceeded to occupy their 
new quarters. 

Dundalk is the assize or chief town of the county of 
Louth, and here the trial of a number of the criminals 
concerned in the burning of Wildgoose Lodge took place, 
and for which eleven unhappy wretches suffered death 
and were afterwards suspended on gibbets. Detachments 
were posted at the respective places, to prevent any of 
the criminal associates consigning the bodies to the grave. 

How far the sentence of the law, in thus exposing the 
carcases of criminals, may have the intended effect of de- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


269 


terring others from attempting the like crimes, I shall leave 

for the consideration of those who are more deeply versed 

than myself in the workings of the human mind. I am led 

to think, however, that where the criminals form only the 

operative part of an extensive body, it might be better to 

let their bones lie hid in the dust with their crimes, than 

to excite public feeling in favour of sorrowing relations 

and oatli-bound associates, who register the criminals in 

the calendar of martyrs and saints. When the condemned 

has been guilty of some crime, the deliberate act of indi- 

* 

vidual malice and wickedness, the case differs; for, most 
likely, no friend will indulge a sympathizing feeling for 
him, and his bones may get leave to bleach in the wind, 
without exciting any other feeling than that of contempt 
of the criminal, and horror at the crime for which he 
suffered. 

Perhaps Wildgoose Lodge atrocity is not so generally 
known in England or Scotland as it is in Ireland; I shall 
therefore give the reader a brief account of the manner in 
which that dwelling and its inmates were doomed, by a 
sanguinary lawless association, to a fate w r orthy of the 
fathers of the Spanish inquisition. 

Wildgoose Lodge w r as situated on a green knoll, in a 
low marshy meadow, laid almost under water during win¬ 
ter by the overflowing of the Louth and its tributary 
streams, which wend their lazy course through the low r 
fertile lands, until they spread over the face of this 
meadow and form a considerable lake. 

It was owing to the insular situation of the house that 
it received the name of Wildgoose Lodge; and the only 
approach to it, in the winter season, w'as by a narrow road 

A A 3 


270 


RETROSPECT OF 


or path, on a ridge which extended from the verge of the 
meadow to the house. 

This place was possessed by an industrious man named 
Lynch, and his family: he had been very successful in 
improving a few fields attached to his dwelling, and which 
were somewhat elevated above the yearly inundations. 
Tie raised a considerable quantity of flax, which he manu¬ 
factured into cloth, and carried to the neighbouring mar¬ 
kets of Newry and Dundalk, where it was readily sold to 
good advantage. By this means he was rising in respecta¬ 
bility among his neighbours, and comfortable contentment 
smiled around his dwelling, until that bane of Ireland’s 
peace, an association of Roman Catholics, exclusive of any 
other denomination, started up in the neighbourhood. 

The remote situation of the place induced a few of 
those men, ever discontented with, and always disaffected 
towards the established authorities, to associate together, 
and bind themselves by the unhallowed oaths of party 
faction, to oppose these authorities; and here this associa¬ 
tion met without fear of detection, and, there is no doubt, 
but Lynch for some time gave it his cordial support. In 
a short time, however, its numbers increased, so as not 
only to subject his family to much inconvenience, but 
also to place Lynch under just apprehension that he would 
be considered as a leading promoter of this illegal band, 
and so bring upon himself a heavy responsibility. He 
therefore refused them the privilege of longer assembling 
under his roof. This led the ringleaders to stimulate their 
sworn accomplices to inflict every annoyance on him which 
they could think of, with a view to accomplish his ruin, 
and eject him from the place. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


271 


Night being the time chosen for these associates to act 
agreeably to the mandates of their directors, a disguised or 
masked party entered the house of Lynch, stripped him in 
presence of his family, and after flogging him, destroyed his 
furniture, insulted his wife, and cut the yarn in the loom 
from the one selvage thread to the other, down to the beam 
on which the warp was rolled. 

What could have been more aggravating than this to 

Oo O 

an honest, industrious, and with the exception of his con¬ 
nexion with this association, a well-conducted man, the 
husband of an amiable affectionate woman, and the father 
of a young family depending upon him for support ? 

To denounce the villains who were thus bent upon 
persecuting him was death; but to submit to their in¬ 
sults and their cruelties was worse, and only protracting 
a painful existence. Seeing the approaching ruin of his 
affairs, he reflected on what he owed to his family as its 
protector, to his country for having violated its laws, 
in secretly abetting the sworn enemies of that authority 
to which lie now saw himself obliged to appeal, and last, 
though not least, perhaps he thought on what he owed to 
his God. He had already applied to the minister of his 
religion for protection, but without effect. He now re¬ 
solved to appeal to that law, against the administrators of 
which the associated band had covenanted; he braved the 
fury of his midnight persecutors, who thought to intimi¬ 
date him from coming forward as a prosecutor or as an 
evidence against them; but he stood firm to his resolution, 
prosecuted, and two of their number were convicted and 
suffered death. 

Lynch had, by thus prosecuting to conviction, separated 


272 


RETROSPECT OF 


himself from the councils of this body of Ireland’s worst 
enemies, and the whole strength of the fraternity was 
called together, on purpose to witness the punishment 
about to be inflicted upon him for his apostasy. 

Now, Lynch was one of those who worshipped at the 
same altar with the men who now leagued against him ; 
neither he nor any of his family was a member of the 
national church, or of any of its dissenting branches; he 
professed the same foreign creed as those who were bent 
on his destruction. 

Not far from Wildgoose Lodge stands a chapel, where the 
association met after its ejection from the house of Lynch. 
The leader was Pat Devane: this man had the charge of 
the chapel, and was the priest’s clerk. Within this sup¬ 
posed consecrated building, the midnight band assembled ; 
oaths had been previously imposed; such oaths as were 
and are a disgrace to society, but well adapted to influence 
powerfully the grossly ignorant and superstitious minds of 
those to whom they were administered; but to impress 
them more forcibly on this occasion, the leader assembled 
the fraternity before the altar, and after mentioning the 
falling off of Lynch, and the necessity for their united 
efforts in suppressing all defections amongst themselves, 
declared the object for which they were assembled, and 
which he trusted would serve as an example to them all 
in future, to be firm to the obligations upon which they 
had entered, and true to the interests of the body. Having 
a piece of burning turf secreted in a potsherd before the 
altar, he lifted it up and desired them to follow. 

The band now issued forth after Devane, towards the 
abode of the devoted family; some scores on horseback 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


273 


from distant places, and many more on foot followed or 
mingled together, a desultory train; many inquiring in 
whispers what was to he done ; for very few of the body 
that had heard Devane’s address believed that the threat 
was to be enforced, and many had not heard correctly 
what he had said; but they yielded to the command of 
their leader. Silence reigned around, and nothing dis¬ 
turbed the general quiet of the country, save the distant 
house-dog’s bark and the unequal tread of the advancing 
band, as they approached the abode of the inoffensive, 
unsuspecting, and sleeping family. No barrier opposed 
their advance, no watchful sentry stood between them 
and the objects of their vengeance; they approached the 
house, and there all was silent as death. 

An extensive circle was now formed around the de¬ 
voted dwelling, and a selected few advanced to the spot. 
With all the characteristic timidity of those who are 
conscious of acting wrong, they crept along the ground, 
the pike in one hand and the faggot in the other; there 
was no chance of escape, and no doubt of the fire com¬ 
municating to the house, for much flax was in it, and 
when once in flame there would be no extinguishing it. 
In an instant the house was on fire, thirteen souls beneath 
its blazing roof! The flames rose up to heaven, and illu¬ 
minated the fields of him who was destined never again 
to look on them. The supplicating cries of the frantic 
victims burst from the midst of the consuming element 

<_5 

and rose with the flames to heaven. “ Mercy! for God’s 
sake, mercy, mercy!” No, there was no mercy: those 
expiring cries were given to the wind, that bore them 
(may we say ?) before the altar of an offended God. The 


274 


RETROSPECT OF 


monsters stood ready with their pikes to thrust back 
those who should dare to escape, either from door or 
window; and when the burning mother held out her 
scorched child for protection, it was thrust back on her 
bosom as she fell amidst the blazing fire! 

Not a tear fell in pity for the guiltless sufferers, no 
soothing sound mingled with their wailings ; but loud 
rose from the surrounding band, as they beheld the strug¬ 
gling victims falling in the flames, the savage shouts of 
exultation. 

The winds of autumn and the storms of winter swept 
the ashes of Wildo-oose Lodo-e to the fields which the in- 

O O 

dustrious Lynch had cultivated, and the nettle reared its 
head undisturbed within the scorched walls of the deso¬ 
late place, before one of the criminals was brought to 
justice; but their deeds were recorded before au all- 
seeing God. 

It is not for me to detail the manner in which it 
pleased Providence to bring the crime of a number of 
those wretches to light; suffice it to say, that eleven were 
convicted, executed, and their bodies hung in chains at 
Louth, Carrickmacross, and Hickballcross. Pat Devane 
was apprehended while working as a labourer at Dublin 
wet-docks, and brought to trial at Dundalk. He was 
executed within the roofless ruins of the house in which 
his victims were immolated, and his carcase suspended 
along with his associates in crime at one of the places 
assigned for their gibbets. 

Thus terminated the earthly existence of the principal 
ringleaders of that fraternity, their fate affording an awful 
lesson to others of the effects of secret associations, in 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


275 


which too often the leaders’ will becomes the exciting 
cause of actions, not only criminal in the eyes of those 
unconnected with their measures, but detestable and re¬ 
pugnant to the feelings of those who may have been 
inadvertently drawn in to he accomplices in the crime. 

The savage hostility manifested by these associations, 
in opposing every institution not originating from their 
own supremacy, or in accordance with it, should awaken 
the executive authority to the danger of permitting poli¬ 
tical associations to form under the cloak of sectarian 
principles, and administer oaths of secrecy, whether to 
oppose or to support the constitution. It is a weak 
government that requires such support, and a despicable 
one that does not put down such opposition. It is partly 
to those associations that Ireland owes many of its alleged 
grievances; and it is of very little importance to any 
country, when internal disaffection and opposition to the 
established laws prevail, what the expense may be of 
enforcing obedience. That which is levied on the country 
in order to put down lawless associations and suppress 
crime, though burdensome, is less grievous to bear, and 
depauperates the country less than when anarchy or dis¬ 
obedience gets leave to bid defiance to the law. When 
this is permitted, the country becomes poor indeed; for 
the good and the wealthy will leave it, and take their 
virtues and wealth with them; the wicked and the poor 
will remain, with their wickedness and their poverty, and 
vice reign triumphant. 


276 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER XVII. 

The Regiment sends a Detachment to Drogheda to suppress Rioting, 
—Doubts regarding the evil of party Feuds.—Death of McLen¬ 
nan.—The Detachment marches from Drogheda to Newry.—The 
Regiment is ordered to Dublin.—Differences arising from Intem¬ 
perance between the - and the 42d. — Dublin Duty and 

Etiquette.—Breakfast Mess established in the Regiment.—The 
Benevolent Society.—March from Dublin to Kilkenny and Clon¬ 
mel.—Improvements checked by religious Prejudice.—Love and 
Suicide. 

The regiment had been only a week in Dundalk, when a 
detachment was ordered off to Drogheda, in consequence 
of some rioting at an election. This order was so sudden 
and peremptory, that nothing less was anticipated than 
an insurrection in that loyal town. On our arrival, how¬ 
ever, we found all as quietly disposed as could be expected 
at a contested election. One man had fallen a victim to 
his own temerity, in forcing an entrance to an apartment 
against the will of those in possession; and he who rashly 
stained his hand in the blood of the aggressor, was yielded 
up to justice, to satisfy a political party or an incensed 
mob. Whether this was justice or no, the reader may 
judge. The man who had successfully resisted the en¬ 
trance of the individual who fell was named Cauldfield; 
he had been posted as a constable to guard the entrance 
of a small room in which a few of the electors were as- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


277 


sembled; he had received orders from the chief constable 
(Armstrong), a very active, respected, and not an over- 
officious gentleman, not to permit disorderly persons to 
enter; and the more effectually to enforce this order, 
Cauldfield was furnished with a pistol. This certainly 
was not put into his hand on purpose to be turned against 
himself, but to enable him to repel force by force. An 

intoxicated ruffian forced entrance: Cauldfield resisted as 

. 

long as resistance was effectual, but when overpowered 
and excited, he shot the intruder. For this act of duty he 
was committed to gaol, tried, and sentenced to death ; but 
the sentence was afterwards commuted to transporta¬ 
tion. 

Had Cauldfield acted upon his own responsibility, the 
sentence of death might have been highly deserving; but 
placed as he had been, and empowered to act by a proper 
authority, his very committal, letting alone his trial and 
sentence, was, if not a perversion of justice, at least a very 
dastardly succumbing to party clamour. 

At elections, fairs, and popular meetings, it is frequently 
the case, that when the chiefs of a faction consider them¬ 
selves above appearing among the crowd, they find a few 
regardless ruffians, as well known for their quarrelsome 
dispositions as for their drunken habits and cutting ready 
wit, to bawd out the name of the candidate or chief they 
intend to support: the party in opposition being provided 
with auxiliaries of the same description, the passions are 
soon at play, drink contributes not a little to the excite¬ 
ment of every hostile feeling, and a row commences. 
44 "YVliugh! whugh ! for Donally,” or 44 Whugh! whugh ! 
for Duffy,” is enough to rally either of the parties; the 


n » 


278 


RETROSPECT OF 


“ whugh” is received with loud cheers, and a hundred 
sticks wave in circles over as many heads; perhaps a hat 
is knocked off accidentally or designedly, and blows com¬ 
mence ; a general scuffle ensues, and, in the common 
phrase, all is “ glorious uproar” and confusion. Seldom a 
life is lost until some of the more respectable interfere; 
when this occurs, the parties become more excited as they 
perceive that their services will be appreciated by their 
respective superiors. Manslaughter ensues, and murder is 
not seldom the result. The police are called out, and this 
seldom fails of making matters worse; for there is a decided 
aversion towards those peace-preservers on the part of the 
lower class of people, who consider them, though unjustly, 
as selected from the ranks of their sectarian opposers. * 
It is not so with the military; soldiers are welcomed as 
friends, until they prove themselves unfriendly; and then. 
on their removal, the kindly-hearted people are as for¬ 
ward to welcome the new party as they seem glad to get 
quit of the old. This is not the case with the police; 
this force is so deficient in numerical strength when a 
struggle takes place, that it is put at defiance; and if it 
be able to discomfit the distuibers of the peace, it becomes 
the point against which every malicious attack is made 
ending too often in murder, or leading to litigation, false 


* The police in Ireland arc admitted without any question as to 
Protestant or Papist ; but in general they are Protestants. The rea¬ 
son is this: there arc very few young men Protestants in Ireland 
without being able to read and write, and this becomes indispensably 
necessary for a police constable ; whereas you will not find one among 
fifty of the Roman Catholics who can write his name or read the ad¬ 
dress of a letter. I mean young men of that class of society likely to 
offer themselves for this service. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 279 

swearing, and the knitting of the ties of unholy brother¬ 
hood closer, on purpose to put the law at defiance. 

It may be questionable whether the party factions that 
exist in Ireland may not afford some advantage to the 
British empire, however much it may be lamented that it 
should arise from such a cause. It is certain that they 
tend to demoralize the lower orders, and by placing these 
in opposition to each other, dispose the youth of both 
sides to enter the ranks of the army, in which their fac¬ 
tious strife is forgotten by absence from the exciting 
cause, and they meet as brothers, fight under one banner, 
and if duty leads them to oppose their former associates 
upon their native soil, neither religion nor party oaths 
betray them from their duty. We have here a nursery 
in active operation to supply the waste of human life, 
occasioned in our ranks by climate, war, or by dissipation. 
In countries where social order prevails, and faction never 
rears its head, men are less prone to a military life, and 
seldom throw aside the implements of their respective 
callings to take up the sword or musket. 

It is perhaps owing to the absence of these much-to-be- 
execrated excitements that England and Scotland do not 
contribute proportionally to their population to fill up 
the ranks of the army. Were it not for this prolific ten¬ 
dency in Ireland to supply recruits, we should have occa¬ 
sion to draw off the peaceably disposed artisan or mechanic 
from his useful avocation, to pass through the ordeal of 
military discipline. 

Some advocates for military reform recommend, from 
their own good disposition, that none should be enlisted 
for the army but the sober, orderly, and well-conducted 

b b 2 


280 


RETROSPECT OP 


youth of the nation. My opinion may he erroneous, but 
I do not think this a desirable reform for the country; to 
take off the good that they may be corrupted, and to 
leave the bad that they may afflict the peaceable and 
well-disposed. Would it not be better to let the exem¬ 
plary remain as a blessing to the country, leave martial 
law as it is, and let the good soldier find in it a sure pro¬ 
tector and a speedy avenger; and let the insubordinate 
have no other refuge but in the protection it gives him, 
and in the obedience which it exacts ? Were a reform of 
this kind to take place in the army, by accepting none 
but men of good character, those good characters would 
need to be embodied by themselves, not engrafted on the 
vices of centuries. 

I mentioned the circumstance of the barrack at Omagh 
being on fire, and the activity of McLennan in saving the 
life of one of the men and in extinguishing the fire. This 
man was quartered at Drogheda; he had reported himself 
sick, one morning after a fit of intoxication, and was sent 
to the hospital for the doctors examination; on present¬ 
ing- himself, the doctor observed,— ct You are after beino- 
drunk, and not yet sober. Let him have a cold bath,” he 
added, turning to the hospital orderly. “ Is that what I 
am to get ?” McLennan exclaimed. “ I shall take that to 
myself,” he rejoined, as he pushed aside the orderly. The 
river Boyne runs past the hospital yard; thither he darted, 
plunged into the deep water, and swam across. The sud¬ 
den immersion cooled his heated imagination; dripping 
and cold he sat down on the bank, doubtful whether he 
should proceed to the barrack, which was on the same 
side of the river, or return to the hospital by swimming 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


281 


back. Sensible that the latter, though dangerous, was the 
surest way to obtain forgiveness, he re-entered the river; 
but his strength failed, he sunk exhausted in the middle 
of the stream, and was drowned. 

The detachment, after having been stationed at Drog¬ 
heda upwards of five months, was ordered to Newry, its 
old quarters. Provisions were now plentiful, cheap, and 
good, the people happy and contented: five months passed 
away in this delightful town and the neighbouring vil¬ 
lages of Rathfrylan, Kilkeel, Carlingford, Johnsborough, 
and Forkhill, to each of which we furnished detachments ; 
and in those places many connexions were formed, and 
our female followers increased considerably. 

In May 1819, the regiment was ordered to Dublin. 
On its arrival it was subdivided, and sent to occupy dif¬ 
ferent barracks, until a removal of another regiment would 
take place. 

The Royal Barrack includes what is usually termed 
the Palatine; a name given to it in consequence of its 
having been built for the reception of the persecuted 
Protestant Palatines of Germany. These people, on their 
settlement here in 1697 or 1698, introduced the manufac¬ 
ture of silk, which is now of considerable importance to 
Dublin. The agricultural class of the emigrants acquired, 
by their exemplary good conduct, the patronage of some 
of the wealthy landholders, who established them in rural 
villages apart from the natives; their locations were gene¬ 
rally in the province of Munster, where their descendants 
are still termed Palatines, and are no less characterized for 
their strict adherence to the doctrine of the Reformation, 
than they are exemplary for their peaceable deportment 

BB 3 


282 


RETROSPECT OF 


and persevering and successful industry and cleanli¬ 
ness. 

The-regiment was quartered in Richmond Bar¬ 

racks, and after we had been a few weeks in the city, we 
were quartered there also. Both regiments had served in 
one brigade in the Peninsula, during which time there had 
been a cordial agreement; here we met in friendship, and 
for months the same feeling pervaded all ranks. One 
canteen received promiscuously the men of both corps, to 
regale themselves under its roof, one room witnessed their 
noisy mirth, and one table frequently floated with the 
overflow of their pots and glasses. 

It is not to be supposed, when men meet thus to¬ 
gether, but some words may escape inadvertently, per¬ 
haps designedly, from the mouth of some worthless fellow, 
that may give just cause of offence to another; and, how¬ 
ever far it may be allowable for the soldiers of a regiment 
to boast among themselves of the exploits or the superi¬ 
ority of their own corps, they should keep this habit 
within such bounds as not to give offence to a soldier of 
another corps. 

It was on one of those nights of noisy mirth, that a 
turbulent drunken drum-boy of the 42d, on leaving the 
canteen, received a merited knock-down from one of the 
same rank in the other regiment. Had these two worthies 
been immediately separated, or permitted to decide the 
contest between themselves in their own pugnacious way, 
without any one interfering, there would have been no 
loss to the service whatever punishment the victor might 
have inflicted; but the canteen (it being shutting-up time) 
poured out its reeling crew to witness the scuffle, while 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


283 


some swaggerer of the-regiment cried out, “ Down 

with the 42d.” This was retorted by “ Well done 42d,” 
and u Down with the-■,” “ Fair play,” &c. The bar¬ 

rack now began to be in motion, as some of those who 
had been raising the exciting cry of “ Fair play” fled 
thither to arm themselves. Presently more than a hun¬ 
dred hands were raised with hostile intention, when the 
timely interposition and decisive command of several ser¬ 
geants, of both regiments, succeeded in drawing off the 
men to their respective barracks, where the rolls were 
called, and quietness and good order restored. 

Thus terminated a quarrel, in which not six of those 
who mixed in the tumult, and received well-merited 
blows, knew the cause for which they had so incon¬ 
siderately rushed forward. 

Dublin duty is considered by the military circle to be 
more strictly attended to, in all the etiquette of dress and 
formality, than any other garrison on home service; and, 
I may say with justice, no garrison abroad excels it in 
those particulars. The general is seldom absent from 
guard mounting, and the brigade-major is at his post in 
front to a minute. Each regiment of infantry, and there 
are generally six in the garrison, furnishes in rotation the 
colours and band of music that accompanies the guard 
from the parade to the castle; and on these occasions the 
musicians are expected to appear in what may be called 
their state dress. 

It was customary, and perhaps still is, for all foot regi¬ 
ments, with the exception of Highland corps, to wear 
gray trowsers in winter and white breeches in summer. 
The latter season approached, and the order w T as issued for 




284 


RETROSPECT OF 


the troops to resume the white small-clothes. One of the 
commanding officers in garrison, either did not think pro¬ 
per to comply with this order, or the dress was not ready 
for issuing to the men, and he sent them dressed in their 
gray trowsers as usual, much to the men’s satisfaction, 
but far from being agreeable to the orders of the general. 
From this circumstance arose an angry feeling, which was 
carried to a rather unjustifiable height, on the part of the 
commanding-officer, towards the general. The band, on 
regimental field days, mustered between twenty and thirty 
musicians, and had a very handsome state dress; but only 
one half of that number were permitted to attend at 
guard mounting, and these dressed in the plain clothing 
of rank-and-file. To this the general could not make any 
objections, as the number limited by his majesty’s regula¬ 
tions was sent; and, of course, it was optional on the part 
of the commanding-officer to permit any other clothing to 
be worn than that furnished by his majesty, the state 
dress being the property of the officers of the regiment. 
It was also remarked, during the period this bad feeling 
existed, that the musicians invariably struck up their 

quick march at guard mounting with the tune of “ Johnny’s 

\ 

gray Breeks.” This was certainly offering an insult to 
the general in such a manner that law afforded no 
remedy. 

During the time we were quartered in Dublin, a break¬ 
fast mess was established in the regiment. Every soldier, 
until this time, had pleased himself regarding that meal. 
Bread and water satisfied some, while others indulged them- 
selves according to their taste or ability to procure what 
was agreeable to them. Every man was satisfied and 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


285 


contented with his own purchase. This breakfast mess is 
certainly no great blessing; for the men were healthy 
and contented before it was adopted, and a number of 
poor soldiers’ widows, and others, in the neighbourhood of 
a barrack, had been enabled, before this system was intro¬ 
duced, to earn a scanty subsistence by selling coffee ready 
prepared, together with a slice of bread, if wanted: it 
certainly was not so cheap to the soldier, neither was it 
so palatable, but it was equally as wholesome, attended 
with no trouble in preparing it, took no man off from his’ 
regular military duty, as we now see them, carrying 
hand-barrows to distant guards, or half-a-dozen of mess- 
tins, lashed on a broom-handle, through the streets of a 
town. Besides, if the poor women’s coffee was not alto¬ 
gether so palatable, the less served, and the widow’s 
blessing was given to the buyer, seeing that he neglected 
to ask one for himself. 

This additional mess is now become almost indispens¬ 
able in the regiment, and I believe we were among the 
last to adopt it, and not without some grumbling; but 
this was very easily hushed, by persisting firmly in its 
establishment. 

There existed in the regiment, at this time (1819), an 
institution called “ The Benevolent Society.” It was 
formed in 1812 or thereabout, and was then patronised 
by Colonel Stirling. The members at one time amounted 
to nearly four hundred, each of whom was subjected to 
a monthly stoppage of sixpence towards the fund, the sole 
purpose of which was to make a small provision for the 
members on being discharged, or to the widows and 
orphans of deceased subscribers. The first charge made 


286 


RETROSPECT OF 


on this fund, worthy of notice, was in August 1814, 
when the regiment was quartered in Naas. Little more 
than two years had then elapsed since “ The Society,” as 
it was called, was instituted; yet each member about to 
be discharged received upwards of three pounds, and that 
was considered less than what the fund could have af¬ 
forded, as more than two-thirds of the original members 
had become defunct without a claim, and many of the 
soldiers joining the regiment afterwards had become mem¬ 
bers and had fallen in the field or died in hospitals. Years 
had now elapsed, and the casualties of Waterloo had re¬ 
duced its numbers considerably. Some of the members 
being now about to be discharged, applied for the benefit 
they were led to expect, and to their no small astonish¬ 
ment two pounds was the sum offered by the managing 
clerk. This excited a considerable degree of discontent 
among the subscribers. The accounts were called for and 
refused; a complaint was made to the commanding-officer, 
Colonel Dick, who immediately ordered a delegate (such 
was the designation of the individual nominated by the 
members as a representative) of each company to assem¬ 
ble, receive the accounts, examine, and- report the result. 
But the clerk, in whose hands the accounts had continued 
from the formation of the fund, evaded the examination, 
and from day to day, and from week to week, flattered 
them with hopes of laying a statement of the concern be¬ 
fore them. Tired of this procrastinating system, another 
complaint was made, and a decisive order was given for 
the production of the accounts and a conclusive settlement 
to be made. At last they were produced; but so unsatis¬ 
factory to the whole of the delegates did they prove, that 




A MILITARY LIFE. 


287 


a request was made to the commanding-officer to break 
up the institution. Consent was given, and thus was con¬ 
signed to oblivion an institution voluntarily entered into 
by the men, and sanctioned by the commanding-officer, 
for the best of purposes, and which might have been of 
great benefit, but which, by mismanagement and pecu¬ 
lation, was made a bone of contention, and a private 
advantage instead of a public good. 

I shall not hesitate to observe, that institutions not 
provided for in the Articles of War, or emanating from 
the commander-in-chief, ought not to be tolerated in the 
army; as the direction and management of the funds in¬ 
variably fall into the hands of staff-sergeants or other 
non-commissioned officers, who, in nine instances in every 
ten, act agreeably to their own caprice, as if it were be¬ 
neath them to consult the privates, who have an equal 
interest in the good management: and it becomes an ano- 
maly in the service to allow deliberative bodies to as¬ 
semble under any pretext, or to permit those of an inferior 
rank to question a superior on the propriety or probity of 
his intentions. Therefore, where no opposition can be 
permitted, neither should any discussion, in as much as 
this might lead the inferior to oppose with impunity the 
decisions of his acknowledged superior. For it will 
always be found, that where a few meet on purpose to 
deliberate, the deliberation sooi* merges into argument, 
and the argument into opposition, and there are men 
now-a-days, entering the army, vain enough to oppose, 
although for no other purpose than to show off their spe¬ 
culative abilities; no great recommendation for a private 
soldier. 





288 


RETROSPECT OF 


With regard to widows and orphans, the benevolent 
subscriptions raised in the respective corps to which they 
belong are generally considerable, and are never withheld, 
save when the ill conduct of the claimants renders them 
no longer objects of compassion or benevolence. 

After having been quartered fourteen months in Dub¬ 
lin, the regiment was ordered thence to Kilkenny and 
Clonmel. The division for the latter marched, under the 
command of Major Menzies, on the 16th of August 1820, 
and following days, by Naas, Balintore, Carlow, and 
Kilkenny. 

Kilkenny is famed for the purity of its water, its 
smokeless coals, and marble quarries ; but it has a prouder 
boast, in being the birthplace of the late Major-general 
Sir Denis Pack, a brave officer, under whom our regiment 
obtained the honorary distinction of bearing on its colours 
and other insignia, “ Pyrenees, Nivelle, Neve, Ortiiez, 
Toulouse, Quatre Bras, Waterloo.” At each of these 
places he himself was personally distinguished, not by a 
forward unnecessary daring, but by attending to the pro¬ 
ceedings of each of the corps in his brigade, and directing 
its movements so as to secure success to the whole. 

Clonmel is pleasantly situated on the left bank of the 
Suir, at the extremity of a rich fertile valley, having the 
long range of the Waterford mountains rising gradually 
from the right bank of the river to a considerable height, 
covered with extensive plantations of spruce, larch, Scotch 
fir, and other forest trees. The openings between those 
plantations are thickly sprinkled with white-washed cot¬ 
tages and cabins, with their thriving plots of garden-ground 
attached. The Tipperary mountains rise on the north 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


289 


side of the valley and run parallel to those of Waterford. 
The Suir, a beautiful, broad, clear stream, with well- 
wooded banks, is navigable for large lighters to and from 
Waterford. Three excellent bridges connect the town 
with the county of Waterford, and there is a considerable 
suburb of the town on that side of the river. 

Near this is the domain of the Earl of Donoughmore, 
and the elegant mansion of Colonel Bagwell, to whom 
the superiority of the town belongs. In the neighbour¬ 
hood is the extensive distillery of Mr. Stein, at Marl- 
field ; this gives employment to a great number of people, 
and affords a ready market for the surplus produce of the 
country. 

Clonmel owes not a little of its commercial consequence 
to its having a considerable number of its most wealthy 
inhabitants of that class denominated Quakers, but more 
appropriately Friends. Here they have a large meeting¬ 
house and a respectable congregation. Happy would it 
be for Ireland were all its inhabitants of this sect; for 
wherever these Friends establish themselves, an air of 
comfort spreads around their dwellings; they establish 
manufactories, and draw to their stores the surplus pro¬ 
duce of the country; they give employment to the in¬ 
dustrious in preparing this produce for a foreign mar¬ 
ket ; idlers lounge not about their gates, for w r ork is 
never wanting for the willing, while they (the Friends) 
become wealthy, and the cold hand of charity needs not 
to be extended to one of their society. They trouble 
not themselves with political or polemical discussions, 
which tend to excite strong party feeling and to keep 
the country in a state of destructive agitation; but 







290 


RETROSPECT OF 


generally standing on the grand principle of doing to 
others as they would wish others should do to them, 
live in quietness and apparent goodwill with all their 
neighbours. 

One of this denomination, some years ago, established a 
large cotton manufactory in this neighbourhood. It flou¬ 
rished and gave employment to hundreds of poor people, 
and offered fair to raise Clonmel to the condition of a suc¬ 
cessful rival to Manchester and Glasgow; but in an evil 
hour for Clonmel, the philanthropic proprietor established 
a school for the education of the juvenile workers (I speak 
from report). The priests of the Romish faith raised the cry 
of heresy; they wanted to be the appointers of the teacher 
and the directors of the education; but the proprietor 
would not succumb to their dictation. The result was, 
that through the interference of the priests, the people 
withdrew from the work, and the factory was shut up. 
I have frequently walked past the building and seen its 
desolate walls; and although the flames have not passed 
through them, yet they may be compared to those of 
Balclutha. The fox may look out at the windows, and 
the owl and the bat may settle there, and no man turn 
them away. 

Clonmel is the principal town of the county of Tippe¬ 
rary, and contains some handsome buildings and a large 
population. 

I have already mentioned that on leaving Kilkenny in 
1814, one of our men shot himself near Tulleroan; a simi¬ 
lar circumstance occurred at this time (1821). The for¬ 
mer put a period to his existence through the effects of 
drink and love; the latter in consequence of a trifling 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


291 


misfortune, which hy a prudent man might have been 
easily foreseen and avoided. 

Regiments, on removing from one station to another, 
are generally subjected to heavy charges, at least what 
soldiers consider heavy, under the name of “ Barrack 
Damages.” It is a matter of no relief from those impo¬ 
sitions, however dirty the rooms may have been on the 
soldiers’ taking possession; and amidst the bustle which 
prevails at the moment of arrival, there is no time for 
making remonstrances, and as little for minute inspec¬ 
tions. If there he a grumble, the barrack-master and his 
sergeant say, “ If the room be left in as good order when 
a removal takes place, no charge shall be made; we never 
make insidious demands when a regiment removes, and 
we are far from being particular in our inspections.” 
Thus a room, which in the ordinary acceptation by the 
barrack-master, when taking it from a regiment, would be 
called dirty, although it really is not so, is given over by 
him to the succeeding corps as clean; but when the period 
of removal arrives, the charges are made on the departing 
troops, the same as had been made on their predecessors. 
Were this credited to the public purse, the soldiers would 
have no cause to grumble; but I am led to suspect it 
never finds its way to the ordnance accounts. 

Although I have made this observation on leaving Clon¬ 
mel, it is not in consequence of the barrack-master there, 
or of his sergeant, having availed him self of this dishonour¬ 
able proceeding; they are both in their graves, and I be¬ 
lieve they were more upright in the discharge of their duty 
than the generality of their class. But it is a common 
proceeding to charge perhaps two shillings and sixpence 

c c 2 






292 


RETROSPECT OF 


or more for cleaning a room, which only requires the floor 
to be sweeped, and is actually all that it gets, to pass it 
clean to the succeeding occupants; and for which pre¬ 
parative cleaning a poor woman may probably receive 
two-pence, and if a voucher be required for this disburse¬ 
ment, she may perhaps put her mark to a receipt for two 
shillings and sixpence. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


293 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Route from Clonmel, and Insurrectionary Movements in the County 
of Limerick.—Causes of the Insurrectionary Movements.—Secret 
Societies.—Assassination of Major Going.—Means taken to sup¬ 
press the Disturbance. 

After having been stationed fourteen months in Kil¬ 
kenny and Clonmel, outrages of an insurrectionary nature 
having broken out in the county of Limerick, the regiment 
was ordered, in October 1821, to proceed to Rathkeale, 
a considerable town in that county, and in consequence 
of the disturbed state of the surrounding district, the head¬ 
quarters of its constabulary force. 

At the time of our arrival, there were some noted 
leaders of the insurgents under sentence of death at New¬ 
castle, a populous village a few miles distant from Rath¬ 
keale, and all the troops in that district were marched 
thither in order to prevent, as it was said, any attempt at 
a rescue, when the prisoners would be brought out for 
execution ; although more probably to show to the public, 
collected together on that occasion, the strength of the 
military. 

It was somewhat singular how correctly the inhabi¬ 
tants o-uessed that those criminals would not be executed : 
every family, in the houses on which we were billeted, 

c c 3 






294 


RETROSPECT OP 


affirmed that there was a general opinion that govern¬ 
ment would be afraid to carry the sentence into effect. 
And, accordingly, a commutation of the sentence did ar¬ 
rive in time to realize the hopes of the insurgents, and 
expose to greater danger the lives and fortunes of the 
loyal and well-affected. There is no doubt that if those 
criminals had been executed, the example would have 
been so salutary a lesson to the insurgents, that tran¬ 
quillity would have been speedily restored, and many 
well-disposed persons’ lives saved. But transportation was 
substituted for death, and even hopes were held out that 
a free pardon would be obtained. 

This mark of clemency, instead of allaying the turbu¬ 
lent disposition that prevailed, became the means of ex¬ 
citing the insurgents to greater outrages, and uniting them 
more closely together. The commutation was considered 
by them as an act of necessity on the part of government, 
lest reprisals should be made on the few Protestants re¬ 
siding at a distance from military protection. 

A petition in favour of the criminals had been drawn 
up, respectably signed, and presented to the lord-lieu¬ 
tenant, praying for pardon. In this petition the intentions 
of the criminals were represented in a favourable light, 
the crimes of which they had been found guilty were pal¬ 
liated, and assurances held out of a speedy return to social 
order, by a well-timed act of clemency. 

Such petitions as these were in common use; for 
notwithstanding the poverty of the peasantry, money 
was always found to hire attorneys to write petitions, 
and to fee counsel to plead at the bar in favour of the 
guilty. And these petitions were respectably and numer- 


A MILITARY LIFE, 


295 


ously signed; for no Protestant could withhold his name 
and remain in the country unmolested, and, perhaps, no 
Roman Catholic would have thought that act wrong which 
was performed at the altar and sanctioned by his pastor. 
In short, he was a bold fearless man who withheld his 
name from one of those petitions when presented for his 
signature. By this means the executive authority was 
deceived, and instead of firmness in executing the law, 
there was a temporizing imbecility which paralyzed all its 
intentions. The most daring criminals found able advo¬ 
cates to succeed, either in exculpating them from the im¬ 
putation of crime, or in mitigating the sentence awarded; 
while those of less interest, although less culpable, who 
were merely the constrained instruments of the more 
guilty, became the victims. 

Had we been quartered in barracks at this time, we 
could not have become so well acquainted with the real 
opinions of the inhabitants ; but being distributed in bil¬ 
let-quarters, and at the same fireside with the family of 
the house, we heard and saw what was passing among the 
very lowest; and we were no spies on their actions. I am 
certain the villagers had that confidence in the soldier s 
unbetraying intention, that they spoke in his hearing with 
the same freedom as they would have done in his absence. 
In fact, many of them detested that system of terror under 
which they had been kept by the insurgents, to whom 
they had been obliged to yield an unwilling but implicit 
obedience, otherwise be subjected to the persecuting 
vengeance of the fraternity. The villagers were now under 
military protection, and could act and speak without fear. 

As we are now placed in the centre of what may be 





296 


RETROSPECT OF 


called the disturbed district, the reader may very natu¬ 
rally be led to expect something explanatory from the 
journalist, regarding the cause of the public discontent 
which has led to those insurrectionary movements which 
have taken place from time to time in Ireland. He 
may very justly say, “ Why is Ireland in a state of ex¬ 
citement threatening rebellion, when every other portion 
of the empire enjoys prosperity and repose?” 

Much may be said regarding the cause of Ireland’s 
grievances. There is no country in the world but has 
some political agitations from time to time, though very 
seldom amounting to what may be called insurrectionary 
or rebellious. Those political agitations have something 
wholesome in them; they tend to purify the political 
atmosphere, as thunder and tempests are supposed to 
purify that of the earth. 

It is the misfortune of the greater part of the province 
of Munster, and perhaps not a little of the other provinces, 
to be placed under agents of absent proprietors, who let to 
friends or others, for some pecuniary consideration, ex¬ 
tensive farms, with permission to sub-let to any extent ; 
the sub-tenants having the same privilege as the princi¬ 
pal, go on subdividing and rack-renting, until the smaller 
portions are so far beyond being able to repay the cultiva¬ 
tor, that he must give his own personal sendee instead of 
a money rent. Thus he is obliged to reap the field of his 
superior, and cut his turf in the bog, when his own field 
is wasting, and when he should be cutting turf for him¬ 
self. In short, every thing is against him; his poor 
wife over-exerts herself, endeavouring to manage and 
keep all right; she is laid on the straw, for bed she 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


297 


lias none; she has no sick-nurse hut her husband. "What 
can he done ? With health, all might have heen got over; 
hut with children and sickness, all goes to wreck; and as 
the rent cannot be paid by work or in money, the poor 
man gets into debt. One of his superiors in the list of 
sub-tenants becomes insolvent, and -^s^gpods and 
chattels of the under-tenant are sequestaiwri in order to 
pay the bankrupt’s rent to the principal; even the poorest 
holder, who has honestly paid his own, becomes amenable 
for his superior’s. His pig and his cow, if he have one, 
are sequestered and attempted to be sold; resistance is 
made, publie sympathy is excited, and the law is p»Lat 
defiance. If the proprietor or the agent be Protestartf?, 
the sufferer is told by some of the sympathizers that he is 
persecuted because he is a Catholic; he believes this, and 
others believe it. 

This and such-like causes have been the means of 
exciting those commotions which have given so much 
annoyance to government, as well as to the peaceably 
disposed. The disturbance generally commences between 
the land-agent and the tenant, or between the latter and 
the tythe-taker, spreads over the whole of a rural district, 
reaches towns and cities, where it loses its agrarian cha¬ 
racter and assumes that of political animosity and religious 
intolerance, opening one of the most productive avenues 
which ever presented itself to an ambitious orator or a 
speechifying lawyer, to bring himself into notice and acquire 
wealth. For, this political animosity is much more to be 
ascribed to the lawyers than the religious intolerance is to 
be ascribed to the priests. The latter may use their in¬ 
fluence in the confessional, but the former more effectually 







298 


RETROSPECT OF 


at tlie bar and public assemblies, where they are listened 
to by a more respectable audience, and the press gives a 
general publicity to their sentiments, wafts them to every 
corner of the empire, and excites a whole nation to join 
issue in the cause. Therefore, it is no wonder although 
the military are sometimes called upon to aid the civil 
authority, and to support the majesty of the law. 

The Roman Catholic peasantry (and be it remembered 
there were very few Protestant peasantry in the country 
in humble circumstances) were associated at this time in 
bodies under the direction of committees, and sworn by 
secret oaths, for the purpose of remedying certain local 
grievances, which they in their ignorance had blended 
with religious distinctions. 

The prime mover of those associations was not known 
to the lower orders; but a debasing barbarity marked all 
the proceedings of the fraternity; and notwithstanding 
that the mandates were issued under the name of “ Cap¬ 
tain Rock,” such an individual did not exist. This was 
merely a name assumed by or conferred upon any cold¬ 
blooded villain of the party, who became the temporary 
leader of it in its nocturnal visits, for intimidating the 
well-disposed or executing vengeance on the enemies of 
the system, by no means leading him to know the influ¬ 
encing superiors, and it is doubtful whether there was an 
acknowledged head or president to direct the whole of 
the committees. Uncertain as the matter may be regard¬ 
ing the principal movers of the Rockite system, it is cer¬ 
tain that many were spurred on by poverty, others by 
wanton wickedness, and not a few through frolicksome 
gaiety, to join the widely spread associations; and it is to 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


299 


be surmised that there was no general union, but as the 
members of one body increased in number, those more 
distantly situated from the place of assembly constituted 
themselves into independent lodges or bodies, and thus 
each lodge extended its affiliations to the east, to the 
west, to the north, and to the south, until the dependence 
on the parent institution became unknown to the more 
remote, and was looked upon by the child of its first 
creation, not as a superior, but as an equal to which no 
obedience was due. Thus the Rockite system had no 
centre of union, yet all its branches, acting on the same 
principle of opposition to the constituted authorities, 
bound by similar oaths of brotherhood, and known to 
each other by secret signs and pass-words ; and the most 
worthless wretches were admitted members, and after¬ 
wards formed other associations for avenging private 
injuries and committing robberies, murders, abductions, 
&c. Upon the whole, we may say, had those insulated 
unions been suffered to exist, they would have been a 
predisposing cause for a general rebellion, as soon as some 
enterprising individual started up to take the advantage 
of the existing disaffection, and to unite the whole so as 
to act by his direction and under his authority. 

The country in the neighbourhood of Rathkeale and 
Newcastle had been for some months in a high state of 
excitement, and the firmness or ill-timed severity of an 
extensive land-agent roused the discontented peasantry to 
more active exertions than had been displayed by them 
for some time past. His son was shot on the highway 
in noon-day; the houses of gentlemen were forcibly en¬ 
tered, plundered of arms, money extorted, the owners 


300 


RETROSPECT OF 


sworn not to prosecute, and the servants not to come for¬ 
ward as evidences. 

A body of these plunderers, coming into collision with a 
party of police, were attacked and put to flight, after 
losing a few of their number in killed and wounded, and 
three of the latter were taken to Ratlikeale, where they 
died of their wounds; and it was said their bodies were 
thrown into a place called the Croppies Hole , in rear of 
the police barrack, and covered with quicklime. 

Some evil-disposed person, or enemy of the chief magis¬ 
trate, Major Going, whispered about that these men had 
been buried alive. This whisper soon became a shout of 
increased excitement to vengeance, and rung in the ears of 
every man in the province of Munster. 

From this false report gaining credence, the magistrate 
became the marked object of the Rockites’ vengeance. 
Twelve of these bound themselves by an oath, similar to 
that by which the forty Jews bound themselves to slay 
Paul; and improbable as it may appear, they executed 
their purpose in broad day, on the highway, in a populous 
district between Cappagh and Ratlikeale. The fatal shot 
was heard, the assassins were seen, yet, strange to say, 
not one of them was brought to the bar of justice until 
more than twelve months had elapsed; even the extraor¬ 
dinary reward of one thousand pounds offered, was not 
sufficient inducement to draw any of the accomplices or 
others to give information. 

Such was the state of terror by which the minds of the 
peasantry were influenced, that their oaths were no more 
to be depended upon or regarded than the simple asseve¬ 
ration of a known perjured criminal; and it was almost a 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


301 


mockery of justice to administer an oatli or to believe the 
swearer. 

Every man and woman, who by accident or otherwise 
had seen any of the outrages committed, were sworn un¬ 
der the most severe bodily penalties and denouncements, 
by those Rockites, not to give information or become an 
evidence against any of the body. And the more forcibly 
to intimidate and deter witnesses from appearing, several 
were stoned to death; and others, after returning from the 
trial and conviction of the most notorious criminals, had 
their houses burned over their heads. Money was levied 
or extorted for the purpose of feeing counsel; and it is far 
from injustice to say, that the lawyers paralyzed the law, 
and mercy superseded justice. The criminal, let loose 
upon society, through the quibbles of the lawyers and the 
discrepance of terror-struck witnesses, returned to devote 
his guiltless fellow-creatures to his sanguinary revenge. 

Now, it was not altogether to promote the original in¬ 
tention of the Rockite association that many of these 
nocturnal bands started into existence; but unprincipled 
villains having been once initiated to the system of inti¬ 
midation, unhesitatingly made the name of Rock the 
avenger of every private grievance, even upon members of 
the association. 

Thus we may see how much easier it is to excite the 
uninformed peasantry, and the lowest class of society, to 
acts of insubordination, than it is to direct them to that 
which might be for the good of their country. When 
such an ungovernable body is in movement, it moves on 
blindly to its own destruction; it is without an ostensible 
leader, for each individual, when flushed with a mo- 

D D 


302 


RETROSPECT OP 


mentary success* imagines himself capable to direct, and 
if not listened to, becomes the secret enemy to him in 
command; hence informers proceed, and the hero of to 
day becomes the inmate of a jail tomorrow,—a patriot in 
his own opinion, a martyr in that of his associates, but a 
felon in the eye of the law. 

On purpose to suppress those bands and enforce obedi¬ 
ence to the civil authorities, several regiments were quar¬ 
tered throughout the different towns and hamlets between 
Limerick and Cork, and along the banks of the Shannon 
from Lough Derg to Tralee. 

• The “ Insurrection Act” was proclaimed throughout 
the greater part of Munster; field-officers and captains in 
command of detachments were invested with magisterial 
authority; sergeants received warrants authorizing them 
to enter the houses of the inhabitants by day or by night, 
in search of secreted arms, or of persons suspected of being 
concerned in any of the outrages which had been com¬ 
mitted. Any man found out of his dwelling without a 
passport from a magistrate, or assigning a satisfactory 
cause for his being out, between sunset and sunrise, was 
committed to prison or to the guard-house, and sent 
before a magistrate next day for examination. And with 
so much vigour was the search for arms carried on, that 
in many instances, bill-liooks, scythe-blades, and stable- 
forks were seized and carried off, as if forming part of an 
offensive armoury, when found in houses or cabins, the 
inmates of which were not likely to have occasion for 
such articles, or if they were suspected of abetting the 
Rockites. Indeed, fire-arms were very seldom found in 
any of the dwellings visited, and those found were in such 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


303 


a state that they would have been more dangerous to 
the individual using them than to those against whom 
they were intended to be directed. Paragraphs appeared 
in the newspapers boasting of the quantity brought in at 
certain places, as a sign of returning tranquillity; but out 
of a hundred stand, not four pieces were serviceable. 


dd2 


304 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER XIX. 

Detachments sent out from Ratlikeale.—An Informer.—Conspiracy of 
Rockites to take the Barrack at Balingrand.—False Alarm of 
Famine. 

* 

From Ratlikeale the regiment sent out detachments to 
Ballangary, Athlaca, Croom, Bruire, Adair, Patrickswell, 
Kildimo, Croagh, Lemonfield, Cappagh, Nantinan, New¬ 
bridge, Askeaton, Loughill, Glin, Shanagolden, Ardagh, 
Newcastle, and a number of small places, from the whole 
of which patroles were sent out to make domiciliary visits 
within the given circle of their respective stations. Every 
house and cabin by the highway or footpath was entered, 
even those situated in the remote fields or in the secluded 
glen were frequently visited by those patroles. Beds were 
turned up, bayonets made use of to probe the floor, lest 
any concealment of arms had been attempted. The thatch 
of the houses and the ricks in the yards were no less 
objects of military search than the interior of the houses. 
On the return of one party, another was sent out, either 
in the same direction or in another, on purpose to con¬ 
tinue the same annoying examination. 

In this manner all the different detachments continued 
to perform a regular round of duty during the winter; a 
duty no less harassing to the military than it was annoying 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


305 


to the inhabitants: for those visits were generally made 
by night, and the families who were thus visited were at 
a loss to know whether their visitors were soldiers or 
Rockites; for both parties were alike overbearing in their 
demeanour, no time being granted to the visited to deli¬ 
berate or ask questions. “ Start instantly,” was the unce¬ 
remonious command frequently given, and it had to be 
immediately complied with. 

Among the many outrages which had been committed 
by the Rockites, previous to our arrival at Rathkeale, 
was that of breaking into the house of the postmaster at 
Shanagolden, destroying a number of articles belonging to 
the office, and subjecting the family to the usual practice 
of making them swear not to prosecute. Several months 
had elapsed since this burglary had been committed, and 
all hopes were lost of ever tracing out the guilty persons, 
notwithstanding that a considerable reward had been 
offered. At last an accomplice in that crime, as well as 
in many others, presented himself as an informer. His 
name was Neil,—a gloomy looking, ragged ruffian, igno¬ 
rant of every moral or religious duty, with the exception, 
if it can be called such, of an expressed belief that when he 
confessed to the priest all his crimes would be forgiven. 
For seven years, if his own account was to be credited, 
he had been a sort of an itinerant missionary among the 
Whiteboys or Rockites, in executing the mandates of their 
committees, and in instructing the members in the secret 
signs, pass-words, questions, and answers, requisite to 
enable them to know and understand each other, as be¬ 
longing to that fraternity. 

This villain was taken into the barrack at Shanagolden, 

dd3 


30 G 


RETROSPECT OF 


and a berth assigned to him. Much of the information he 
gave was acted upon, and much more was not, as it seemed 
the workings of malice, and was therefore left for future 
investigation. lie remained about a week in the barrack, 
during which time a considerable number of men whom 
he had accused were apprehended, brought in, and depo¬ 
sitions drawn out and sworn to against them, after which 
the unfortunates were escorted to liathkeale, thence to 
Limerick, whither the informer was also sent and lodged 
in gaol for his safe keeping and protection. But although 
the law afforded him this security from the vengeance 
of the fraternity whom he had betrayed, on the trial of 
the prisoners coming on, he was decoyed from Limerick 
as he was proceeding from the gaol to the court-house to 
give evidence, and he was found a mangled corpse next 
day, near the chapel of Cappagh. 

By the murder of this informer his depositions became 
unquestionable evidence, and thirteen of those against 
whom he had sworn were sentenced to transportation. 
Had he been suffered to live on purpose to come forward 
at the trial, most likely the whole would have been ac¬ 
quitted ; for his own testimony, though supported by 
some presumptive evidence, would have been very ques¬ 
tionable at the bar, as he was one of those irreligious 
ruffians, capable of becoming the hired assassin, the cor¬ 
rupt informer, and the tool of any party’s crimes. 

Such as Neil was, were and still are the sanguinary in¬ 
struments of those secret associations which render one of 
the finest countries in the world not worth living in. 

In consequence of numerous outrages being committed 
on Sundays and holidays, when the people were congre- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


307 


gating for divine service, an order was issued for sending 
out patroles on the roads, from each detachment, during 
the time of the congregations’ assembling, and to continue 
until the people returned to their respective places of resi¬ 
dence ; while the remaining soldiers in barracks were to 
remain under arms, ready to send assistance to the pa¬ 
troles, or to defend the barracks in case of an attack. 

On the approach of Christmas, a plot was laid at Balin- 
grand to intercept one of the patroles of the party stationed 
there, on its return to the barrack, so as to draw out the 
men left in charge, then seize and burn the building. The 
party consisted of a sergeant, a corporal, eleven privates, 
and two police constables. 

The conspirators, on purpose to promote their design, 
sent an anonymous letter on Christmas eve to Mr. Con¬ 
yers of Castle Conyers, intimating that an attack was to 
be made upon his residence on the following day. It was 
supposed that this intimation would be sufficient to cause 
that gentleman to demand a few soldiers from the party 
stationed at Balingrand, which was only about three 
miles distant. Some private notice was also sent to 
Mrs. Odlc, the owner of the barrack, warning her not to 
allow her boys to visit the soldiers on that day, as was 
their daily custom; for the boys were great favourites 
with the men, and were frequent and welcome visitors. 
It had been the opinion of the conspirators, that the 
attention of the party would be so directed to different 
places at the same time, in the neighbourhood, that the 
barrack would be left unguarded, upon which it might 
instantly be seized and set on fire ; more for the purpose 
of carrying the orders of the Rockites into effect, than for 



308 


RETROSPECT OF 


any personal injury intended to the military; for notices 
had been frequently posted up, threatening the lives and 
property of all those who should give their houses for the 
purpose of being converted into barracks; and seldom 
was a detachment removed from a place, but the house 
which it had occupied fell a prey to the flames; the in¬ 
cendiaries not being aware that the owner received ample 
recompense, which was assessed off the barony in which 
the property was situated. It was even alleged that 
some of the owners set fire to their own property on 
those occasions, and pretended that it was the act of the 
Rockites. 

The views of the conspirators so far succeeded as to 
draw off the sergeant, four men, and one of the constables 
to Castle Conyers; the corporal, an active intelligent 
young man, being left with the remainder of the party in 
charge of the barrack. 

About an hour after the departure of the sergeant, an 
alarm was raised outside the chapel, at which a large 
congregation was assembled, that the soldiers were within 
and dragging the priest from the altar. This was readily 
believed by the crowd of devotees without the walls, and 
the confused noise raised by them reached the ears of 
those within, wdiere a few who were in the plot shut the 
door and raised the cry that the soldiers were breaking in 
to kill the priest. So far the conspirators succeeded in 
exciting the congregation by this false alarm, that those 
without strove to get in for the priest’s protection, and 
those within to get out, either to resist or run away; and 
the door became fixed between the two, so that no ingress 

7 O 

or egress was practicable; the windows were driven out, 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


309 


and the congregation sallied forth to oppose the military. 
By this time the alarm had reached the barrack, and the 
corporal, retaining three men with himself as a guard, 
despatched a police constable with four men to ascertain 
the cause of the disturbance, desiring them to fall back to 
the barrack in the event of being attacked. This did not 
serve the conspirators’ purpose, for they had anticipated 
the drawing off the whole of the soldiers; and to effect 
this, as soon as the constable and four men approached 
that part of the road leading past the chapel, the crowd 
which were on the movement there opened to let them 
pass, but closed in the rear, as if intending to cut off their 
retreat; at the same time, some stones w T ere thrown, one 
of which struck a soldier on the neck; he immediately 
turned, discharged his piece at the supposed aggressor, 
reloaded, and fired again. The others followed the ex¬ 
ample, without any command, for the constable fled when 
the first shot was fired. 

It is to be remarked, that every soldier had positive 
orders not to fire upon any person, or make use of his 
arms offensively, except in his own defence, unless sanc¬ 
tioned by the order and presence of a magistrate or con¬ 
stable, and for this purpose one of the latter accompanied 
ns on our various out-duties and patroles. In this in¬ 
stance, the men being left to their own personal guidance, 
freely used the arms with which they had been entrusted, 
for their own protection, and made good their retreat to 
the barrack. The sergeant and his party joined soon after¬ 
wards, without any attempt having been made to intercept 
or attack them. 

It is uncertain how many lives were lost in this affair; 


310 


RETROSPECT OF 


some reports stated the number to be fourteen, others 
made it more. It is to be hoped, however, that the ac¬ 
counts were greatly exaggerated, as it was with some 
difficulty that any of the dead bodies could be got, in 
order to hold an inquest respecting the legality of the 
attack or defence; neither has any satisfactory reason 
been assigned for the intended attack upon the barrack, 
further than that of complying with the resolutions of the 
Rockite association, which, I may safely say, was com¬ 
posed of the most disorderly, idle, and ignorant of the 
land, and of course may partly account for this ill-devised 
conspiracy and its fortunate failure. The result, however, 
may have been serviceable, in a general sense, to point out 
the inefficiency of a tumultuary crowd opposing a regular, 
disciplined, armed force, however small in number the 
latter may be. 

The province of Munster had been visited by an unpre¬ 
cedented rainy autumn, winter, and spring: the turf, 
which had been stacked up as usual on the little emi¬ 
nences throughout the bogs, was consolidated like a lump 
of common earth, immersed in water, and useless for fuel. 
There was no alternative for many a poor family, but 
either to take from a wealthy neighbour who had a 
reserve, or sit shivering round a tireless hearth, and give 
up all culinary avocations. This absolute scarcity first 
made many prune the decayed hedges, then carry off 
broken or loose fragments of wooden fences; from that 
they proceeded to cut down trees, and secretly carry off 
pieces of lumber, useless perhaps to the owner, but pre¬ 
cious to the poor starving pilferer; yet many were ar¬ 
raigned for this, and convicted. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


311 


All the low lands along the Shannon had been flooded 
by that river or its tributaries; many a field of wheat, of 
oats, and of barley, had not been cut down, and many 
more of potatoes had not been dug up; yet such was the 
abundance in the country, that a sufficient quantity re¬ 
mained for the consumption of the inhabitants. Every 
one must allow that, situated as we were, we must have 
known the state of the country much better than any 
member of parliament, even although he had been on the 
spot, instead of in London; he would not have conde¬ 
scended to search, as we did, and as we were in duty 
bound to do; therefore, he would have had to take his 
information from the report or observation of another per¬ 
son, not from ocular proof. 

The following were the prices of provisions, in March 
1822, when the alarming cry of famine arose:—Best 
quartern loaf, tenpence; oatmeal, two shillings per stone; 
good potatoes, from fivepence to sixpence per stone; beef 
or mutton, from threepence to fivepence per pound; eggs, 
threepence per dozen;—there being an abundance of 
provisions in the country, until the outcry arose all at 
once of scarcity; and it was the opinion of many that 
that outcry first arose in London, a considerable distance 
certainly from the land of want. Be that as it may, it 
excited every one’s attention, and was loudly shouted 
throughout the whole empire, until the reverberations 
shook the farthest shores of Ireland, and made us believe 
that a famine with all its horrors wasted the land. 

The stores of the country disappeared as if by magic; 
the potatoes, which previous to this outcry were seen in 
the corner of every cabin, and under every bed, were hid 



312 


RETROSPECT OP 


in the ground, meal was scarcely to be procured, and 
money ceased to circulate among the labourers. If ever 
there was truth in the saying, that “ Prophecies are the 
means of their own fulfilment,” it was so at this time ; 
for it could have been from no other cause than a pre¬ 
diction that there would be a famine, in consequence of 
the neglected state of harvest operations, that the out¬ 
cry was raised in a part of the country distant from that 
in which it was to exist. 

It was now seed-time, March had past, and every one’s 
face was turned towards England, that land of blessed 
plentifulness, from which immense, even unbounded sup¬ 
plies were expected. 

The famine did now make its appearance; for those 
who had refused to sell, under the pretence of reserving a 
sufficiency for family consumption, were afraid to let it 
be known that they had some to spare. Owing to this, 
the potatoes, which are the principal, I may say the sole 
article of food used by the peasantry, lay wasting in the 
earth, no less a loss to the owner than to the public, 
through an unjustifiable desire to obtain a portion of that 
which was solely intended for the poor. Agricultural 
pursuits seemed entirely neglected in many places, every 
one anticipating to sow or plant with the anxiously 
looked for supplies from England. Money ceased to cir¬ 
culate ; for the industrious and willing labourer found no 
employment, and the fate of thousands seemed to depend 
on the speedy arrival of the expected relief, and its being 
issued. 

The soldiers were prohibited from purchasing potatoes, 
lest their consumption might be the means of raising the 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


313 


price ; but this prohibition was almost unnecessary, for 
when the poor man had no employment, he had no money 
and no credit, therefore ceased to be a purchaser; yet 
there was no dearth. The soldiers lived on their pay, and 
contributed liberally to the funds for the relief of the ne¬ 
cessitous ; and potatoes could have been obtained secretly 
at eightpence per stone. I say secretly, for those who had 
them to sell were afraid to let it be known, as their poor 
neighbours would have been demanding them on trust, and 
the expected gratuity withheld from the seller. In short, 
there was very little advance in the price of provisions 
from that which I have already stated. 

Now, if we compare these prices and the quality of the 
provisions during this cry of famine in 1822, with those 
charged for the repulsive food on which the poor inhabi¬ 
tants of Ulster had to subsist in 1817, it is as a penny 
to a pound. There can be no comparison. 

The famine in Ulster was the infliction of Providence 
in the failure of the usual productions of the earth. This 
in Munster was artificial, and brought on by an excited 
peasantry,—or poverty, sloth, and bigotry, leagued against 
wealth, industry, agricultural improvement, and liberality. 
Abundant crops had been allowed to rot on the fields, as 
the owners had been placed under the ban or interdict of 
an association in opposition to the law. The potatoes lay 
drowned or frosted on the field, for none of the lawless 
fraternity would dig them up for one inimical to their 
association, or even permit a stranger from a neighbouring 
county to offer his service : it was Limerick against Clare, 
and Cork against Kerry. Yet Providence was bountiful, 
for enough of the produce of former harvests still secured 

E E 





314 


RETROSPECT OF 


the country from want, notwithstanding the great de¬ 
struction by wilful fire-raising. In Ulster, no extensive 
charitable contributions poured in to furnish food for the 
actually starving population; while here, in Munster, 
the whole empire seems to present its offerings. 

I shall here offer a few observations on the cause of the 
urgent appeal to England for relief in 1822. 

It is well known that a system prevails, in the greater 
part of Connaught and Munster, but more particularly so 
in the districts in which there are no resident landowners, 
but many avaricious middle-men, who sublet their farms 
into almost indivisible portions, that as soon as the poor 
man plants his potatoes, he leaves his little cabin to the 
care of one of his family, and sets out accompanied by the 
rest towards the industrious north, and begs his way, 
seeking employment. Few farmers in Ireland are so 
pressed for want of labourers as to engage one with a 
family at his heels; he receives a meal, however, and a 
night’s quarters if required, and he is thankful for this, 
and proceeds on his way in this manner, until he finds 
employment or money to pay his passage over the chan¬ 
nel, leaving his encumbrances at or contiguous to the port 
at which he embarks. Thus Dublin, Dunleary, Newry, 
or Belfast, with their neighbouring villages, become the 
summer residence of those migratory paupers, while such 
as are able and willing to work pass over to England 
with the sickle or the' scythe, gather in the harvest, and 
again beg their way back; in the same manner as the 
tribes of Mull, of Arran, of Jura, or Lewis visit the 
Lothians, and return happy if they have realized as much 
as pay their rents. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


315 


Now, owing to the insurrectionary movements in the 
south of Ireland, this annual migration had not taken 
place so extensively as usual; the population had been 
kept more at home, the Insurrection Act not allowing any 
strangers to be on the road, or in a strange house, where 
it was in force, after sunset, without having a passport. 

Thus the supplies of the migratory adventurers were 
consumed, without affording any surplus to settle their 
rents. Some provident capitalists, however, foreseeing the 
approaching time of want (the Insurrection Act enforce¬ 
ment being no rare circumstance in that distracted coun¬ 
try), forestalled immense quantities of grain; it was of no 
consequence to have this store, as the poor potatoe-eaters 
had no money wherewith to purchase. But there was 
cunning to accomplish the sale by an appeal to the feel¬ 
ings of a misinformed legislature; and England placed at 
the disposal of the local authorities, funds beyond their 
most sanguine expectations. 

The granaries were now emptied at high prices; the 
hungry labourers were employed, paid, and fed; no idlers 
were to be seen, the money got into circulation, and works 
of public utility were undertaken. The repair of roads, a 
never failing resource, afforded ample employment to the 
uncertain jobbing labourers, until another harvest waved 
over the fertile fields of Munster, and owing to the vigi¬ 
lant and unceasing military patroles, it was more safely 
secured than the preceding. 


ee 2 


316 


RETROSPECT OP 


CHAPTER XX. 

General Search for Arms.—Limerick.—March to Buttevant.—Dublin; 

—Fermoy..—Embark for Gibraltar. 

Winter and spring passed over, witnessing innumerable 
patroles of infantry perambulating the lialf-flooded face 
of the country, alarming the peaceable and annoying the 
turbulent, by repeated nocturnal visits. Summer at last 
brought fair weather; the streams rolled to the Shannon 
in their wonted placidity, the fields afforded a firm foot¬ 
ing for more extensive operations, and fresh employment 
for the military was planned out. 

The searches made for arms heretofore w T ere, as I have 
already noticed, by small patroles from the different de¬ 
tachments, within the circle of their respective stations; 
and, although those patroles were numerous and active, 
yet they were not very successful. Summer was now 
gladdening the face of the country, and nothing obstructed 
our path through moors or bogs, and a search, on a more 
extensive scale than any on which we had been engaged, 
was undertaken ; and in order to render it the more effec¬ 
tive, the troops were ordered, on the day appointed, to 
assemble at given points, from which they were to extend 
so as to form a circle, the centre of which was Attai, a 
small village situated in a beautiful valley. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


317 


The troops about to form the proposed circumvallation 
extended from Glin, on the banks of the Shannon, up that 
river to Askeaton, thence across the country by Nan- 
tinan and Cappagh to Rathkeale, thence to Newcastle: 
this semicircle was taken by the 42d regiment, several 
corps of yeomanry, and police. The rifle brigade, the 
Tarbet yeomanry, police, and other corps, extended from 
Newcastle, by Abbyfeale, until the left rested on Glin, 
communicating with the right of the 42d, and thus form¬ 
ing a circle ready to advance by sunrise, on or about the 
21st of May. Attai being the concentrating point, every 
man faced towards it, our files approaching nearer to each 
other as they advanced; for the whole were extended in 
double files, at such a distance from each other, that the 
one double file (four men) was within view or call of the 
right and of the left files. As we advanced, every inha¬ 
bitant or wayfaring man, within this wide circle, had to 
submit to answer, not only the inquiries regarding his 
own domestic or public employment, but respecting that 
of his neighbours, give an account of the number of cattle 
of which he was possessed, show them to the military 
questioner, who was enjoined to take notes of the number 
in view, as far as he could observe over his respective 
range, and remark to whom they belonged. Every man 
unemployed,—in the house, on the field, or on the high¬ 
way,—that could not or would not give satisfactory 
reasons respecting his business, was brought along to 
account for himself at Attai, where the magistrates were 
to assemble, hear, and decide upon all cases that might be 
brought before them. 

From the extremities of the circle to the centre was up- 

e e 3 




318 


RETROSPECT OF 


wards of twelve miles; but as we had frequently to 
diverge to right or left to maintain our communication 
with our corresponding files, we in some instances ex¬ 
ceeded that distance considerably, before we reached the 
converging point. 

The party from Shanagolden passed Sliannet Castle to¬ 
wards Kilcoman, ascended the heights, passed through 
Glen-harold, a poor valley tenanted by small crofters,—no 
respectable house appears within its limits, and neither 
wood nor orchard gives any picturesque appearance to the 
scene,—all a bare, bleak, uninviting mountain track, save 
the few spots which the inhabitant of the turf-built hut la¬ 
bours to reclaim from the more elevated heathy moorlands. 

We reached Attai before noon, and soon afterwards the 
whole circle concentrated at the village, bringing a num- 
her of the peasantry along. Here an investigation took 
place, the different remarks made by the respective parties 
•were recorded, and after the magistrates had deliberated 
on what further was to be done, the poor people were dis¬ 
missed to their respective homes and the troops returned 
to their respective quarters. 

The reason for casting so w ide a circle, and drawing it 
in like a net to a certain point, w T as the hopes entertained 
of apprehending a number of suspected individuals, who 
had fled from their own residence, and w^ere supposed to 
be lurking within those bounds, and occasionally driving 
off some cattle to their mountain retreats. But I am led 
to believe we were not very successful in this respect; and 
with regard to the number of cattle which were seen, no 
estimate could be formed, in consequence of the different 
parties calculating on herds seen by other parties. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


319 


Soon after this, some flying camps were formed, and 
another general search was made, similar to the former; 
the concentrating point was Ballyhahil, where one of 
those camps was pitched. The number of peasantry 
brought in on this occasion was greater than on the for ¬ 
mer, and a considerable time was spent in examining those 
who were considered strangers to the place from which 
they had been brought, and especially in questioning one 
who seemed of weak mind. In examining this half-fool, 
half-rogue, one of the magistrates was pleased to be very 
jocular, and having a couple of musket-balls, with which 
lie was amusing himself by rolling them from hand to 
hand, he dropped them into the poor fellow’s pocket as 
he made a pretence of searching his person. “ What 
have you got here ?” he exclaimed, as if astonished at the 
discovery. “ Not much, your honour,” the man replied; 
“ just some of your playthings that are sometimes left in 
honest men’s houses, your honour, on purpose to find 
them again.” This retort was perfectly understood, for 
the police had been blamed for finding powder and shot 
where no one else could find them. 

It might be thought presumption of me to say how a 
magistrate should deport himself on such occasions as this. 
It may be justifiable in an advocate, a barrister, or coun¬ 
sellor, to endeavour to puzzle a witness offering evidence 
against his client; he may pass his sarcasms, his jeers, and 
his jokes on that witness, and feel no dishonour by any 
retort that may be made; he is in the act of performing 
a professional duty, and is prepared for the worst that 
may be said, even personal. But a magistrate should be 
so tenaciously alive to the superiority of his situation 



320 


RETROSPECT OF 


within the circle of his authority, that his conduct should 
almost bid defiance to censure, and in times such as these 
of which I am now speaking, those men thus brought 
before him should be considered as children of his own 
household, that by some misunderstanding have become 
disunited, but are brought before him to embrace and be 
reconciled. There is no valour in a man speaking boldly 
when supported by bayonets, neither is there meanness 
nor timidity in his speaking mildly; but to provoke a 
man to anger, and excite him to recrimination, is debasing 
to the character of a magistrate. 

As I would much rather bind up the wound that has 
been inflicted, than wantonly tear off the ligatures, on 
purpose to show its magnitude and excite sympathy for 
the sufferer; so would I much rather conceal that magis¬ 
terial folly, which exposes the ruler to contempt, with¬ 
out affording relief to the ruled; I shall therefore pass no 
further remarks upon the examinations of that day. 

The people were dismissed, and the troops marched off 
to their respective quarters; but can it be said that the 
former felt happy or satisfied at this mode of bringing 
them together ? They had been taken under different cir¬ 
cumstances : some had been hurried off from their labour 
in the field or turf-bog, others from their cattle on the 
pasture,—unshaven, unwashed, and unprepared to meet 
such an assemblage as here presented itself. 

It may appear, from what I have already stated, that 
the duty of the soldier during this time was not without 
danger, nor his moments of relaxation altogether free 
from the risk of being broken in upon by the emissaries 
of the disaffected; yet soldiers in general like this ram- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


321 


bling sort of duty, if I may apply the term rambling to 
duty. There is such variety in its movements, such lati¬ 
tude to please or to annoy, to protect or to harass, that 
there is food for every mans disposition. 

We had now been stationed upwards of nine months in 
Rathkeale and the villages already mentioned, during the 
whole of which time our duty had been vexatiously op¬ 
pressive to the inhabitants, and not a little fatiguing to 
ourselves; it was therefore with no small satisfaction that 
we received the route for the city of Limerick. 

Limerick is a large city, well situated for trade; yet 
there are few manufactures of any consequence in it to 
give employment to the lower class of people, who have 
lately flocked in from the surrounding agitated districts, 
either to avoid the persecution of the Rockites, or to hide 
themselves from impending prosecutions, in consequence 
of having participated in the prevailing disorders. New 
streets have been lately planned out, the buildings of 
which are intended to be in the modern style, with sunk 
areas and iron railings. Casmated cellars under the streets 
have been already finished in several places, and as this 
undertaking has not been followed up by building the 
proposed houses, the cellars have been taken possession of 
by houseless paupers; and some of those dark dens afford 
shelter for several ragged families, living in one low damp 
vault, in wretched indolence, amidst filth, mire, and 
smoke ; the smoke being the more intolerable, as it pro¬ 
ceeds from withered weeds, the decayed stems of potatoes, 
roots and stalks of cabbages, and such-like rubbish, col¬ 
lected from fields and road-sides. Several public buildings 
have been undertaken of late, more on purpose to give 



RETROSPECT OF 



employment to tradesmen and labourers, than for any 
pressing necessity for their erection. 

It has been remarked by several travellers, that nothing 
tends more towards the prosperity of a nation, or the pre¬ 
servation of tranquillity in large towns with an ill- 
employed population, than the formation of small colonies 
at some distance from those over-peopled towns. If the 
site for the new establishment be judiciously chosen, it 
gives instant relief to the over-crowded and ill-employed 
mechanics and labourers; and few places, perhaps, require 
this more than Limerick, and certainly the banks of the 
Shannon afford an ample field for improvement. Here 
the labourers might be employed in draining, embanking, 
and inclosing what are at present unprofitable marshes. 
Marine establishments might be formed to great advan¬ 
tage towards the estuary of the river; and while these 
communities would be forming, ample employment, as well 
as a permanent residence, would be opened for the mason, 
the carpenter, the smith,—in short, for all crafts. It is 
not to be considered, however, that these establishments 
should be exclusively drawn from the redundant popula¬ 
tion of their neighbourhood; this would be rearing an 
infant colony for future disaffection to government. Hither 
the deserving old soldiers, whose inclination may lead to 
locate themselves, should be encouraged to retire, by giv¬ 
ing them a few roods or acres on easy terms. Here loyalty 
would be insured, and disaffection never be heard of. 
Strangers, even foreigners, should not be excluded; these 
are often found to contribute more towards the prosperity 
of an infant establishment than the natives. Foreigners 
introduce improvements, find out fresh channels for com- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


323 


merce, and stimulate to industry, by tlieir exertions, their 
personal example, and their unremitting attention to busi¬ 
ness ; but the discouragement given to trading strangers, 

I may add, the prejudice entertained against them by the 
ignorant, has operated much against Ireland’s prosperity. 

In offering these remarks, my memory flies back to the 
days of my childhood, calls up the neglected statistics of 
my native Strath , and gives a place to patriotic worth; 
for patriotism may be no less displayed by him who holds 
the plough or handles the shuttle or the needle, than by 
him who wields the shining sword. 

I bring the more readily to mind the unimproved > 
state in which my natal district had been at the time to 
which I am about to allude, and from which state it was 
only emerging when I was a boy, as it bears so strong a 
resemblance to the present state of the rural districts of 
the province of Munster, not only with regard to the pre¬ 
judice entertained against local improvements, but even 
in the religious prejudices which then and there existed, 
and which have now', I hope, happily given way to a 
much better feeling. 

The village in which I was born had been, until a few 
years before the unhappy rebellion of 1745, a poor con¬ 
temptible hamlet, consisting of a few thatched houses, 
called the Raws. About tw T o years before that event, an 
Irishman, named Hugh M‘Veagh, who had been under 
the necessity of abandoning his own country in conse¬ 
quence of unmerited persecution, arrived at this hamlet ; 
a few shillings and a watch, the wreck of his fortune, 
were all he possessed. Small as this stock was, he com¬ 
menced business as a linen manufacturer. Industry, 



324 


RETROSPECT OF 


honesty, and a rigid application to turn every transaction 
to the best account, placed him in a few years in respect¬ 
able circumstances. The noble proprietor (the Duke of 
Gordon) patronized this worthy stranger, and let to him 
a farm on the banks of the Bogie; there were but a few 
acres of cultivated ground on the farm, but a considerable 
quantity of unprofitable wastes, producing nothing but 
reeds and rushes, broom and furze, liazle and alder bushes; 
he reclaimed the greater part, established a bleachfield, 
and in a few years the banks of the river were covered 
with linen. Soon after he had thus established his bleach- 
field, the agent (or factor) of the nobleman died, and an 
Englishman named Bell was appointed agent. 

There had been an old saying or prophesy (for even 
Strathbogie has had its prophets), that an English Bell 
should ring over Strathbogie. Tlijs had been considered 
to be a cliurch-bell; but when the new agent came to 
settle, the prophesy was otherwise explained; for the 
words ring and reign are similarly pronounced in that 
place, and the agent had a greater sway over the destinies 
of the rural population than what the noble proprietor 
assumed. Mr. Bell was therefore heartily hated, before 
any estimate could be made of his national prejudices; 
and, I may add, the country was but indifferently inclined 
towards England, in consequence of the disastrous events 
of the rebellion. A few years, however, convinced every 
individual that an erroneous opinion had been formed of 
this stranger. He encouraged Mr. M‘Veagh, and joined 
in his manufacturing speculations. The bleaching of linen 
had previously been conducted in the most simple and 
protracted manner; machinery was now introduced, flax- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


325 


dressing established, building encouraged, carriage roads 
opened up where only bridle paths had been; and to this 
there was as stern an opposition as there is at the present 
day to any of the proposed improvements in Ireland; but 
a mild yet unyielding firmness overcame obstinacy, and the 
most obstinate became at last the most approving. In short, 
Mr. Bell became generally beloved, poverty fled, not a 
beggar was to be seen; all ranks united his name with 
that of the noble family, to which he was merely a ser¬ 
vant, in their morning and evening prayers, for a blessing 
on himself and family; and when he died, a general grief 
prevailed throughout the whole district. This event I 
well remember, though then a boy; and from the unex¬ 
pected good which those individuals were the means of 
doing, I conclude that a well-informed stranger should be 
received with good-will at whatever place he intends to 
fix his residence, whether for trade or retirement. But to 
return from this digression to the subject of home colo¬ 
nies,—I hesitate not to say, that all classes would be 
benefited by such establishments; and those persons who 
love their country would have the pleasure of witness¬ 
ing a spirit of industry springing up, and acquiring 
fresh vigour by the encouragement given to a class pre¬ 
viously immersed in poverty and wretchedness; of seeing 
the poor labourer have a home to which he becomes 
attached, because he is secured in its possession. They 
would rejoice to see wealth springing up around them, 
and the comfortable cottages of a contented community 
rising over the ejected waters, or shining in snowy bright¬ 
ness amidst gardens and green fields, on the brow of the 
reclaimed mountain. 


F F 


326 


RETROSPECT OP 


How different is the result in expending large sums in 
ostentatious or uncalled for undertakings in the vicinity of 
large towns ; expended sometimes rather to gratify ambi¬ 
tion than to confer a lasting benefit on the country. The 
latter undertakings may be the means of immediate relief 
in times of commercial distress, but they will be no less 
the means of exciting future appeals to alleviate any sud¬ 
den pressure which may occur in the neighbourhood of 
the place relieved. For, instead of drawing off the redun¬ 
dant population and providing for it otherwise, it is aug¬ 
mented by the influx of mechanics and labourers who 
come from distant places, like the builders of Babel, until 
the work is nearly brought to a conclusion, when dis¬ 
content springs up and confusion ensues; the strangers 
meet with opposition from those who consider them 
aliens or intruders, discord agitates the city, and fresh 
appeals to the public or government become as pressing 
as ever. 

Had the money granted in the time of a pretended 
famine been applied to the reclaiming of unproductive 
lands, it would have served the double purpose of pre¬ 
sent relief and future productiveness. 

After having been quartered one year in Limerick, w r e 
received the route for Buttevant, and on the 17th July, 
1823, proceeded on our march. 

Bruff is the first stage; but before we reach that town, 
we pass the small village of Six-mile-bridge. Near this is 
one of those circles of stones, the erection of which has 
been ascribed to the Druids. There are upwards of forty 
stones in this circle, some of them twelve feet above 
ground, and from four to six feet thick. 





A MILITARY LIFE. 


327 


We now come to Bruff, a pretty large town, containing 
about three thousand inhabitants; its approach is marked 
by a considerable line of neatly thatched houses, the walls 
of which are chiefly composed of mud, but well finished ; 
they have uniformly a bridge of two or three slab-stones 
leading from the road to the door, on the same side of 
which is the ash-pit, on the other a dirty puddle. The 
proprietors of these houses are all forty shillings free¬ 
holders, a class of people the least free of any in Ireland. 
Their right to vote at elections is anything but a blessing 
to themselves. On the one hand, they are expected to 
vote agreeably to the desire of their landlord, from whom 
they hold a few roods of ground in rear of their kitchen 
garden, and of which they may be deprived at his plea¬ 
sure ; while, on the other hand, religious prejudices may 
induce them to vote for an opposing candidate. Thus 
religion and interest are often at variance with each other. 
The electors are marched to the hustings as if they were 
a flock of cattle; nay, worse than this; cattle are driven 
to the market without a chance of being hurt, but the 
freeholders are likely to meet with a party in the opposite 
interest and be maltreated. 

About six miles from Bruff is Kilmaliock, anciently a 
walled town, now a miserable village. The wall is yet. 
remaining on one side, and a number of ancient ruins 
cover more ground than the inhabited houses, with their 
attached gardens. Kilmaliock has been designated “ The 
Balbec of Ireland.” The ruins, however, do not present 
anything grand in their architectural remains, to entitle 
them to rank high as specimens of art. 

About five miles from Kilmaliock, on the road to 

f f 2 


328 


RETROSPECT OF 


Buttevant, is Cliarleville, a respectable town, and plea¬ 
santly situated, commanding a view of a delightful coun¬ 
try, interspersed with some elegant seats of resident 
gentlemen. 

Six miles from Charleville is Buttevant,—a small, 
shabby, ruinous-looking village. The barracks are good, 
and capable of accommodating two regiments of infantry. 
Here are the ruins of an abbey or monastery, in which are 
some ancient monuments of the Desmond family. As we 
enter the yard in which the ruins stand, a large heap of 
human bones presents itself to view, bleaching above 
ground. 

Here is the Castle of Buttevant, once the seat of the 
Barrymore family, but now that of Sir James Anderson, 
Bart., by whom it has been repaired and enlarged, and 
new gardens walled in : the hanks of the stream on which 
the castle stands have been planted with larch, Scotch firs , 
and other forest trees, and bid fair to add greatly to the 
beauty of the domain. 

It was through the interest of Sir John, the father of 
the present baronet, that the barracks were built in this 
neighbourhood; and it certainly has been no small inte¬ 
rest that could have induced government to sanction the 
erection of such extensive barracks in the vicinity of so 
miserable a village, without one single object to recom¬ 
mend the site. The nearest market-towns, Charleville on 
the one side and Mallow on the other, are no less than six 
miles distant, and Mallow possesses far superior advan¬ 
tages for a military station. 

The village is in the same miserable condition, appa¬ 
rently, as it had been before the barracks were erected; a 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


329 


few thatched houses have been built, forming a new street, 
hut they are inhabited by a class of poor labourers, little 
better than paupers, depending principally on the em¬ 
ployment which their children may get about the barracks ; 
for it is now customary, in some places of Ireland, to have 
in each room a servant-girl, designated a barrack-maid. 
This practice has been often censured, and as often prohi¬ 
bited, just as the commanding-officer pleased to give or 
withhold his sanction. Indeed, the poor girls have no 
other means of employment; here they assist the soldiers’ 
wives to wash and dress, and keep the rooms clean; for 
this they generally receive about one shilling a Aveek, and 
the scraps that otherwise would be thrown to the ash-pit 
become their perquisite; these serve their parents or 
friends for feeding their pigs, and even sometimes poverty 
will make a hungry person pick up a morsel for his own 
mouth from the scraps before they are given to the pigs. 
A girl has, in addition to her wages, a mess the same as a 
soldier: and this being more than sufficient to serve an 
abstemious person, is partly, or wholly, with any surplus 
that may he left, taken to her parents. 

After having been quartered nearly two years in But- 
tevant, we were ordered to Dublin, where we remained 
about three months; and our head colonel, the Bight 
Honourable General Sir George Murray, being then com¬ 
mander of the forces, frequently superintended our move¬ 
ments in the field ; and before we left Dublin for Gibraltar, 
he presented a sum of money to be distributed amongst 
the women who were not allowed to accompany their hus¬ 
bands to that station. 

We left Dublin on the 5th October, 1825; and after 

f f 3 


330 


RETROSPECT OP 


some weeks’ detention at Fermoy, waiting for the arrival 
of transports at the Cove of Cork, we embarked in three 
divisions; the first on board the Albion, 74; the second, 
about three weeks thereafter, on board the Sovereign, and 
the third on board the Numa, transports. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


331 


CHAPTER XXL 


Arrival at Gibraltar..—Unfortunate Contractor.—Trade and Improve¬ 
ments.—Apathy of the Church of England in promoting the 
Extension of the Protestant Religion.—Natural Cavities and 
Petrifactions.—Influx of Water from the Atlantic to the Medi¬ 
terranean—Effects of easterly Winds. — Regimental Establish¬ 
ment for supplying the Barracks with Water. 

The second division of the regiment, under the command 
of Colonel R. IT. Dick, sailed from the Cove on the 
3d November, 1825, and reached Gibraltar on the 15th 
of the same month. The sun was rising on the horizon 
as our vessel, borne on the rippling stream, first caught a 
view of the gray rock for which we were bound. Not a 
breeze ruffled the face of the wide opening bay, and, to¬ 
wards noon, we anchored off the New Mole, disembarked 
the following day, and marched to Windmill Hill Bar¬ 
racks, where our first division, conveyed by the Albion 
ship of war, was already quartered. Our third division, 
by the Numa, did not arrive until a month afterwards. 

The hill, at the foot of which the town of Gibraltar is 
situated, is generally designated “ The Rock,” but it is by 
no means so destitute of vegetation as that appellation 
would lead us to believe. On the west side, above the 
town, are several patches of cultivated ground surround¬ 
ing two homesteads, designated farms, though hardly 


332 


RETROSPECT OF 


worth, the name. Some flowering shrubs, furze, and 
stunted herbage, afford a scanty pasturage for a consider¬ 
able number of goats. Beyond this hound of scanty vege¬ 
tation, the rock lies bare in rifted layers to its summit, 
inhabited by a tribe of monkeys. It appears, on our enter¬ 
ing the bay, to be an island about three miles in length, 
separated from the main land; but when we approach 
more closely, we see that it is connected to the continent 
by a low isthmus of two miles in length, from the north 
front to the rising heights of Spain. A narrow plain runs 
along the western base of the hill, and the town, about 
three-quarters of a mile in length, is situated on the north 
end of this plain, fronting the bay. The buildings extend 
backwards, however, and rise considerably on the face of 
the hill towards the two farms; so that each row of houses 
overlooks that in front, and commands a view of the bay, 
the harbour, and shipping. The town district is bounded 
on the south by a wall, which bisects the rock to its sum¬ 
mit. Beyond this wall is the district called “ The South,” 
and comprehends the principal part of the territory, with 
regard to its extent. Here are beautiful gardens, public 
as well as private; a spacious parade, fine walks shaded 
with trees, and handsome octangular arbours, surmounted 
by cupolas, where persons may sit and enjoy the view of 
the bay and the coast of Spain on the opposite side. Here 
is the New Mole Parade, Rosia, and Bonavista, forming 
separate villages, with their extensive barracks and hospi¬ 
tals, while the hill in the back-ground rises to the height 
of twelve hundred feet, covered with a scanty vegetation 
of prickly shrubs, thistles, and short grass; thence rising in 
naked ruggedness about four hundred feet to St. George’s 





A MILITARY LIFE. 


333 


Tower, which crowns the summit of the southern pin¬ 
nacle of the rock; the whole presenting a very picturesque 
view. 

Windmill Hill is a considerable flat, forming a parade- 
ground on the south-east shoulder of the rock, sloping 
towards the east, and is not seen from the bay. This 
parade is considerably elevated above Europa Flats, and 
presents to the latter a base of perpendicular cliffs, inac¬ 
cessible at every point, except by a temporary stair, which 
has lately been constructed for a more ready communica¬ 
tion between the two places. 

Europa Flats lie at the extreme point of the rock, abut¬ 
ting upon the Straits, and resting on a bed of rock which 
rises in some places to more than sixty feet of perpendi¬ 
cular height above the tide, which breaks against its base. 
On these flats is a barrack for a company of artillery, as 
well as a detachment of infantry. Here is also a flag-staff, 
with the union-jack at the top, floating in the breeze, and 
serving as a signal for vessels passing up or down the 
Straits to display their colours. 

There are generally three regiments quartered in the 
South, viz. two at Iiosia and Bonavista, and one at Wind¬ 
mill Hill. A regiment, on its arrival, is generally quar¬ 
tered at the latter, on account of its elevated and airy 
situation. But the quarters of the officers are too remote 
from the soldiers’ parade, a circumstance which subjects 
the gentlemen to no small inconvenience in the rainy 
season. This might be easily remedied, and at very little 
expense, by erecting barracks contiguous to the soldiers’, 
and employing the non-commissioned officers and privates 
in executing the work, under the supetintendence of the 


334 


RETROSPECT OF 


royal artificers; and this work would be conferring an in¬ 
calculable benefit on the soldier at the same time, by 
teaching him to be useful to himself after he is discharged 
from the service. The houses occupied by the officers at 
present, if sold, would bring nearly double the sum which 
the new building would cost, under proper management. 
It may be said, that employing soldiers in this manner, 
would be enough to excite a mutiny; but, I venture to 
affirm, that it would be attended with no such effect. I 
never knew a soldier object to be employed at any public 
work from which his country was to reap advantage. I 
have, on the contrary, remarked, on all occasions where 
such a service was required of him, that he rejoiced at 
being so employed, however severe the labour imposed 
on him. But, on the other hand, call him to perform 
some private menial work, such as carrying coals to a par¬ 
simonious officer, or a thankless mcssman,—then all the 
spirit of the man, I may say, of the rebel, rises within 
him, and although he may perform the work, he does it 
under a feeling of degradation, as calculated to diminish 
both the respect which he owes to himself and to those 
who have required of him a service which should have 
been assigned to others. 

On the arrival of the 42d, a large building occupied as 
an hospital, on Europa Flats, was converted into officers’ 
quarters and mess-liouse. In this building eleven officers 
are now uncomfortably quartered. It stands remote from 
any other building, is exposed to every tempest that visits 
the Gut, is a mile from the soldiers’ barracks, two from 
the town, and about three from the market. 

The oast side of the rock is inaccessible, being almost 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


335 


perpendicular from its base to its summit, with the excep¬ 
tion of a small sandy beach towards the north end, where 
there is a small fishing village called Cataline, from which 
the bay on the east side of the rock receives its name ; 
but here the hill rises so perpendicularly, that no human 
foot can ascend to the summit. Vessels which chance to 
approach this side of the rock are exposed to great dan¬ 
ger, in consequence of an eddy current setting in from the 
Straits and preventing them getting out to sea: in this 
case they are said to be “ back-strapped,” and may remain 
w eeks before they can work their way out. 

The north end of the hill, fronting Spain, is a perpen¬ 
dicular bare rock, rising to the height of fifteen hundred 
feet above the isthmus, designated the neutral ground. 
Here are two galleries excavated within the rock, one over 
the other, with guns pointing through embrasures, like so 
many pigeon-holes or open windows, looking towards 
Spain. Such is the hill anciently called Mount Calpe, 
but now better known as Gibraltar; although the town 
bearing this name occupies but a small portion of its 
western base. 

At the time of our arrival, an epidemic w r as raging on ' 
the opposite coast of Barbary, the effect of a severe famine, 
which occasioned a strict quarantine to be enforced on all 
vessels approaching from that coast. This subjected the 
garrison to a very indifferent supply of live-stock for 
slaughter, as the principal imports are usually from that 
quarter. There had been also a great mortality among 
the cattle in that country, for w r ant of provender, and 
those brought over for the use of the troops w r ere so lean, 
that the flesh scarcely covered the bones. Good beef was 



336 


RETROSPECT OP 


seldom seen in the market, and that which was very indif¬ 
ferent, but considered the best, was selling from thirteen 
to fifteen-pence per pound. At the same time, veal was 
eighteen-pence; mutton, thirteen-pence; a pair of fowls, 
six shillings and six-pence; a pair of ducks, eight shil¬ 
lings and eight-pence ; a cock turkey, twenty-one shillings 
and eight-pence; a goose, seventeen shillings and four- 
pence ; eggs, two shillings and two-pence per dozen. 

The contractor for the supply of fresh meat for the 
troops, notwithstanding every exertion on his part, found 
it impossible to furnish meat agreeably to the terms of 
contract; for fat cattle were not to be had at that time, 
even in Spain, but at a most exorbitant price. Notwith¬ 
standing these unforseen difficulties, and his frequent 
representations to the commissary, he was obliged to 
slaughter such cattle as he could procure, after which a 
board of survey sat to pass an opinion on the quality of the 
meat; it was condemned, and thus cast on his hands ; he 
urged the impossibility of getting better, solicited to have 
the live-stock examined, approved or disapproved, before 
being slaughtered, and not thus to subject him to such 
ruinous losses; but to no purpose; and he had therefore 
no other prospect before him but bankruptcy and beg¬ 
gary. He passed over to Barbary on purpose to procure 
better cattle, found it impossible, and closed the contract 
by suicide. This circumstance so affected his poor widow, 
that she also put a period to her existence. 

I may remark, that although the meat was lean, there 
was worse exposed for sale in the market, and the con¬ 
tractor’s was far superior to that which was issued to the 
army during the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, and on the 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


337 


whole might have passed very well; hut the contractor 
was imahle to satisfy the avarice of the quarter masters, 
by making a liberal discount on weight, equal to their 
expectations; they were therefore not to be satisfied, and 
all under the plea of doing the soldiers justice. 

Gibraltar being a free port, it has been for many years 
a great emporium for British goods; but no manufacture 
exists within itself, except that of tobacco, which gives 
employment to some hundred hands. A great quantity 
of cigars, under the name of Ilavannali, are exported, and 
not a few arc smuggled into Spain, where almost every 
map is a smoker, and tobacco is exorbitantly dear, in con¬ 
sequence of its being made a kind of government mono¬ 
poly; whether, therefore, in its manufactured state or in 
the leaf, it there meets with a ready sale, though contra¬ 
band and the traffic hazardous. 

In 1827, a felucca belonging to this port was captured 
by the Spaniards under the pretence of its being a smug¬ 
gler. This capture was made at noon-day, within the 
range of our batteries. Whether this was a breach of 
neutrality on the part of Spain or not may be question¬ 
able ; be this as it may, it was certainly an insult, and 
intended as such; and it struck a considerable blow at 
the trade of this port; for several of the merchants had 
carried on a very advantageous trade in smuggling contra¬ 
band articles into Spain. The capture of this small ves¬ 
sel, however, within range of our batteries, was not only 
looked upon with the greatest indignation by the garrison, 
in whose face it was made, but with the utmost astonish¬ 
ment and consternation by the merchants and traders of 
Gibraltar; these seemed as if left without any protection, 


G G 





338 


RETROSPECT OF 


their fortune on the waves and their enemies in pursuit. 
The soldiers gave vent to their indignation in useless 
curses at the cowardly captors, and the culpable inertness 
of our official authorities, who allowed the capture to be 
made while the vessel was slowly steering her course to 
the south, and confident of protection. I use the term 
cowardly, in consequence of the gun-boat which made the 
capture firing round shot, grape, and musketry into the 
prize when within pistol-shot distance, and no resistance 
making, save that of displaying the British flag. At this 
time the gunner at the New Mole guard asked permission 
to fire a gun, promising to sink the Spaniard; but by 
some doubt existing on the mind of the officer of the 
guard, the gunner was prevented; a shot was fired, how¬ 
ever, from a more remote battery, after the capture was 
made and the prize beyond reach. If this was not a de¬ 
cided mark of imbecility or imprudence on our part, it 
certainly was not that of dignity, self-respect, or good 
judgment. 

Some remonstrances, whether feeble or energetic, were 
made to the Spanish authorities, upon this violation of 
neutrality; the result, however, never became so publicly 
known to the population of Algesiras, San Roque, and 
Gibraltar, as that which they had witnessed of the insult 
to the British flag. 

The Gibraltar smugglers were unquestionably the best 
sailors of the Mediterranean, hardy, and intrepid. They 
entered the solitary but dangerous creeks, approached the 
rocky islets or surfy beaches fearless of danger, landed 
their cargoes at all hazards, and returned to enrich the 
town by their adventure. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


339 


The merchants, disgusted at so debasing an apathy in 
protecting what they considered a fair trade, gradually 
relinquished the traffic, and Gibraltar may be considered, 
in a time of peace, rather as a burthen upon England 
than of any compensating advantage; but as it is the key 
of the Mediterranean, it is of the first importance, in time 
of war, to her commerce and her navy. 

The first thing that draws the attention of a stranger 
on entering the town, is the immense number of dogs 
straggling about; the whole line of the streets, by the 
foot of the walls and sides of the pavements, is black¬ 
ened in streams, spotted and polluted by these animals. 
The vegetables, which are arranged in heaps in the mar¬ 
ket, are not secured from being trodden over by them, 
and plentifully watered; the meanest inhabitant that visits 
another is attended by a dog, and if the person visited has 
none, the house is certain of getting a plentiful supply of 
fleas and the furniture soiled. To impose a tax upon 
dogs would be conferring a benefit on the inhabitants in 
general. 

O * 

. Previous to the siege by the Spaniards in 1779, the 
population of Gibraltar scarcely amounted to seven thou¬ 
sand ; the houses were chiefly of wood, mean, dirty, and 
crowded upon each other; the streets were filthy in the 
extreme; the few drains for carrying off the water were 
choked up, and their entrance in a manner concealed with 
rubbish, which no one thought of removing. 

The town remained in this state until the arrival of his 
Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, who commenced the 
work of reform ; but the soldiers at that time had got into 
a state of such laxity of discipline and unmilitary habits, 

G G 2 






340 


RETROSPECT OF 


that his attention was solely drawn to the re-establishing 
order and good discipline in the ranks. 

The arrival of General Sir George Don, as lieutenant- 
governor, marked a fresh era in the records of Gibraltar. 
He assumed the command when a violent epidemic raged 
in the garrison, and his first measures were to cause every 
hut and shed to be white-washed or painted within, for 
there were more wooden huts and sheds than respectable 
houses; he caused the drains to be opened, scoured, and 
enlarged; he divided the town into districts, appointed 
inspectors to each, and established a scavenger department 
and a regular system of police. When the contagion dis¬ 
appeared, he caused proper drains to be cut; new build¬ 
ings were afterwards erected; and the old dilapidated 
wooden sheds were removed from the principal streets 
and lanes, and a new town may be said to have arisen on 
the site of the old. Excellent stone or brick houses line 
each side of the main (or Waterport) street, which ex¬ 
tends the whole length of the town from Southport to 
the esplanade of the Grand Casemates. Engineer Lane 
runs in a parallel direction, though under different names, 
nearly the whole length of the town; Irish Town is also 
a respectable street, running in the same direction as the 
two already mentioned; and several lanes, with excellent 
buildings, run in a transverse direction. 

The Convent is the residence of the governor, and al¬ 
though destitute of any thing grand in its exterior towards 
the street, is nevertheless a spacious building, and presents 
a very fine appearance on the side towards the garden. The 
Garrison Library and the Exchange are handsome build¬ 
ings. There are two theatres in the town, but no regular 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


341 


company of professional players; the amateurs of the 
respective corps composing the garrison are the per¬ 
formers. 

A church has been lately built in the town, and 
owing to the indifference of the lieutenant-governor, Sir 
George Don, to the undertaking, it was permitted to re¬ 
main for several years in an an unfinished state. A large 
sum had been expended on its erection, and it was likely 
to fall to decay before it was completed, although very 
much wanted; for although the Convent chapel is almost 
capable of containing all that attend worship, it may be 
said with certainty, that there are hundreds of Pro¬ 
testants, perhaps careless ones, that have not entered its 
door twice in seven years; the reason of which is, the 
seats being generally occupied by private families or offi¬ 
cials of the garrison; when a humble stranger seats him¬ 
self, so as to hear and see the preacher, he has a chance 
of being turned out, and instead of the pleasant look of 
a saint wishing to make a convert of a sinner, he meets 
with the frowning face of a demon, wishing, if not telling 
him, to go to-. 

It is to be regretted that this spirit of irreligous pride 
should be brought within the walls of a place dedicated 
to the worship of God, or should predominate in the 
breasts of those whose particular interests and duty it is 
to promote the religous' instruction of the lower classes of 
society. The learned and the wealthy may have access 
to the works of the most learned divines, and may visit 
and be visited by the preacher to whom they apparently 
come for instruction, but the poor mechanic who thirsts 
for that gospel information which he may be doubtful of 

G G 3 






342 


RETROSPECT OF 


having hitherto received, has no other means of acquiring 
it hut by entering the place where he thinks it is expounded. 
Now, as one of the many blessings of the Christian reli¬ 
gion, proclaimed to the rich as well as to the poor, is to 
make the poor man content with his poverty, are not the 
more fortunate sons of wealth called upon to point out to 
his mental view the happiness which awaits him in a 
future state ? Let them not, therefore, prevent the poor 
from learning how that future happiness is to be ob¬ 
tained. It is the interest of the wealthy and high in rank 
to promote that view ; it is their duty to set an example 
of punctual attendance at the place of public worship, 
and so far as their influence can, induce the less favoured 
classes (the unlearned and the unfortunate) to attend the 
house of worship; and to see that the places assigned for 
their accommodation be, if not near the altar, at least near 
the pulpit. 

During the time Lord Chatham commanded in the 
garrison, he perceived the want of church accommodation, 
or it was pointed out to him, and this new church was 
proposed .and founded. It was suffered, however, to 
remain more than five years after being roofed, before 
doors or windows were made for it. The rains of several 
winters poured in floods on its roof; the gutters were 
choked up, either by accident or design, so that the water 
lay in a pond on the flat roof until the walls absorbed the 
whole to their foundation : if this had been unforeseen 
and by accident, during the first rainy season after its 
being roofed, it ought to have been guarded against after¬ 
wards ; if it had been done intentionally, it may be 
attributed to the Spanish workmen, who are more zealous 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


343 


to promote the advancement of the church of Rome, than 
the English establishment is to prevent its members 
straying to the arms of its more showy rival. These 
workmen may have intended so far to ruin the building, 
that the walls might give way to the first pressure of a 
crowded audience (should lofts or galleries be erected), 
and crush the whole under its roof. 

The rock abounds with many natural cavities. Saint 
Michael's and Martin’s are the most considerable; but 
they are destitute of interest, and the pen of the travel¬ 
ler has given them a celebrity which they do not de¬ 
serve. 

There seems to be a strong petrifying quality in the 
waters of the Straits; hence geologists find ample mate¬ 
rial for investigation amongst the petrified concretions of 
animal and vegetable substances to be found at Gibraltar 
and along the coasts of Africa, more particularly so at 
Cape Spartal, where the fragments of human bodies are to 
be found petrified and attached to the rifted rocks which 
overlook the entrance to the Gut; and it is affirmed, that 
for several days after the battle of Trafalgar, the bodies of 
the slain continued to float in upon that coast, and having 
been pressed in by the waves among the cliffs and cavi¬ 
ties, have become incorporated with the frowning rocks 
that repel the invading sea. 

It has been remarked by several writers, as some¬ 
thin^ irreconcilable, how so much water continues to 
flow in to the Mediterranean, and no visible outlet to 
discharge it. 

Some writers have affirmed, or at least given it as their 
opinion, that the stream from the Atlantic is thrown back 


344 


RETROSPECT OF 


by an under current. Indeed, Colonel James, in his His¬ 
tory of the Straits, makes mention of a vessel which had 
been sunk in the centre of the Gut, and that she was 
afterwards cast ashore near Tangiers, a distance of twenty 
miles from the place where she sunk, and in the opposite 
course of the current; and from this, perhaps, the idea of 
an under current has arisen. I am led to believe, how¬ 
ever, that the certainty whether there be an under current 
or not, could be very easily ascertained. 

Some suppose that the evaporation of the Mediter¬ 
ranean is so great, that the exhaustion of its waters may 
be fairly placed to that account; while the long reach 
of the thirsty coast of Africa, and the unknown subter¬ 
raneous fires that burst forth occasionally and consume 
the bowels of Etna, Vesuvius, and Strombola, may ab¬ 
sorb more than all the European rivers contribute to its 
supply. 

Perhaps few places afford a better chance for observing 
the phenomena of the exhalations arising from the Medi¬ 
terranean than Gibraltar. The wind no sooner veers to 
the east and settles in that point, than the evaporations, 
borne along on the breeze, meet with an interruption 
from the lofty abrupt side of the rock, collect in a cloud, 
and continue to roll upwards, like smoke from the mouth 
of a volcano. This is sometimes so dense, that the sun 
is hid from the town by the thick cloudy vapours until 
afternoon, while the isthmus north of the rock enjoys the 
rays without obstruction. 

It has been remarked by a medical writer, that during 
the prevalence of an easterly wind, the atmosphere on the 
western side becomes stagnant. But I have invariably 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


345 


\ 


observed, that as soon as the wind began to blow from 
that point, clouds of dust sweep from north to south 
along the whole western base of the rock, from Landport 
along the streets to Southport, thence along the two 
roads leading to Europa Flats and Rosia, the same as if 
the wand were blowing from the north. The current of 
air being obstructed in its course, forces its passage round 
the north front, whirls round on the lee side, and bears 
those clouds of dust along to the South. It is also 
observed, that the east wind has an extraordinary effect 
on many things. The stones and the interior of the 
walls exude a moisture; flesh meat becomes flabby, soon 
taints, and will not cure. Wines, bottled during an 
easterly wind, never clear; people affected with nervous 
complaints know, or pretend to know, whenever the 
wind changes to or from that quarter; yet, notwith¬ 
standing all these circumstances, Gibraltar is a very 
healthy pleasant place. It cannot boast, however, of any 
overflowing spring or streamlet to w r ater its parched sides 
in the sultry season; but there are several public draw T - 
w r ells which serve for the consumption of the garrison, 
and some private ones for irrigating the gardens; and Sir 
George Don, on assuming the lieutenant-governorship of 
the garrison, adopted measures to prevent a general 
scarcity of w T ater, by enjoining every builder of a house 
to sink a tank to receive the rain falling from the roof. 
This, in a few years, when old buildings give place to 
newg wall afford an ample supply to the inhabitants, if 
the order be enforced. 

A regiment, on its arrival, has to purchase three mules, 
three carts with harness, two asses with pack-saddles and 



346 


RETROSPECT OF 


cross-trees, and about fifty water kegs, each holding about 
five gallons. This forms a regiment’s watering establish¬ 
ment, and will cost about two hundred pounds ; but this 
depends on the chance of another regiment removing and 
the price of animals. In order to defray this expense, 
every soldier is charged about five-pence per month, and 
the officers in proportion to the number of kegs re¬ 
quired. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


347 


CHAPTER XXII. 

An Epidemic breaks out in Gibraltar ; supposed Cause.—The Spa¬ 
niards establish a Cordon.—The Troops ordered to encamp, and 
Places of Public Worship and Courts of Justice closed.—Progress 
of the Fever.—Casualties among the Troops during its Prevalence. 
—The Fever disappears, the Troops return to Barracks, and In¬ 
quiries made regarding the Cause of the Fever.—Population Table 
and Remarks. 

In- the end of July or about the beginning of August, 
1828, the Swedish vessel Deigden, from Havannah, en¬ 
tered the bay, was placed in quarantine, and notwith¬ 
standing that some of the hands had died on the voyage, 
the master had by some means got sailors to fill up their 
place on the ship’s books, and no apparent cause existing 
to keep her from port, after a few days, she was ad¬ 
mitted. 

This transaction had been so secretly managed by the 
master and crew, that although suspicion was entertained 
regarding the healthy state of the vessel, yet nothing posi¬ 
tive could be proved to continue the quarantine. As I have 
just stated, she was therefore admitted; and one of the 
mariners belonging to her brought to a woman, residing in 
a crowded part of the town, a quantity of dirty clothes to 
be washed. The woman no sooner bent over the tub in 
which the clothes were immersed, than she inhaled the 



348 


RETROSPECT OF 


steam from the hot water, caught the infection, sickened, 
and died; another followed to finish what the other had 
begun, and sickened and died before the work was com¬ 
pleted ; a third finished the task, hut in less than two 
days thereafter she was also a corpse. 

This was partly kept secret, lest the articles belonging 
to the inmates of the house should be seized and commit¬ 
ted to the flames, as had been the case on every former 
symptom of epidemic or sudden death, attributed to the 
effects of contagion. 

The fever was now making rapid but secret progress; 
for some of the houses were extremely crowded with 
lodgers of the very lowest class, in consequence of which 
it was the less surprising that the infection spread rapidly 
when it once entered. It was only a few days after its 
being introduced to the town, when a sergeant of the 12th 
regiment, happening to be on guard, entered a house con¬ 
tiguous to the guard-room to light his pipe or cigar, was 
suddenly taken ill, and died within a few hours. Several 
men of the same corps were placed on the sick list; yet 
still the doctors were doubtful. The accounts, however, 
reached Spain, and excited the fears of the authorities 
there, by the great influx of families to San Roque and 
Algesiras; doctors were sent from those places to inquire 
respecting the health of the place, and their opinion and 
report were unfavourable. A cordon was immediately 
placed by the Spanish authorities in front of their lines on 
the isthmus, and not a soul was permitted to pass it. 
Much to their credit, however, permission was given to 
bring every article of food, provender, and fuel for the use 
of the inhabitants, and even without the customary duties. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


349 


A cordon, similar to that of the Spaniards, having been 
also established on our side, about fifty paces distant from 
theirs, the sellers brought their articles to the centre 
between the cords, and there arranged them in lots. 
While this was doing, the Gibraltarians had to recede as 
many paces from the cord as the Spaniards had advanced 
towards the centre. When the articles were arranged, the 
latter withdrew behind their cord, and the former advanced 
to theirs and made tlicir bargains; these concluded, the 
Spaniards retired about twenty or thirty paces, and the 
buyers rushed forward, removed the articles, and returned. 
This was repeated every quarter of an hour or thereabout, 
from six in the morning until about ten, when the market 
closed. It seemed not a little astonishing how expedi¬ 
tiously bargains were made, even when the wind blew so 
strong that one could hardly hear another’s voice at half 
the distance, yet these buyers and sellers made themselves 
understood by their violent gesticulations; arms, hands, 
head, and feet obeyed every impulse of the speaker with 
such facility and effect, that words seemed of little ser¬ 
vice. There was one thing that prevented delay, the 
buyers and sellers were personally acquainted, and the 
former paid in cash; no goods of any description were 
permitted to enter Spain from Gibraltar. Persons were 
appointed to receive the money from the buyers, it was 
put into a pail among vinegar, carried to the next receiver 
on the Spanish side, there set down, and the first receiver 
retired until the money was taken out; he then advanced 
and brought back the pail with the vinegar. 

The articles brought for sale were chiefly provisions of 
all sorts usually brought to market, vegetables, provender 


H n 


350 


RETROSPECT OF x 


for cattle, and fuel. The market re-opened in the after¬ 
noon, but on a more limited scale. 

The 12th regiment, having had several deaths by the 
fever and a number of men in hospital, was ordered to 
encamp on the neutral ground. This was on the 5tli Sep¬ 
tember. The sickness now began to spread wide among 
the inhabitants, many of whom concealed their cases, and 
their friends gave no public account of their death. The 
royal artillery and sappers were next ordered to encamp, 
and a lazaretto was established on the north front glacis of 
Landport. 

A daily statement of the deaths by this fever was ordered 
to be published, and by it they were represented as not ex¬ 
ceeding four or five, whereas from twenty to thirty funerals 
passed Landport to the cemetery on the neutral ground, 
besides what might have passed to the other cemeteries in 
the South. But as I have before observed, the inhabitants 
declined letting it be known when a death occurred, so 
far as it could be kept secret, for the reason already 
assigned, namely, the loss of clothing, bedding, &c. 

The courts of justice were ordered to be shut, and all 
places of public worship closed. A melancholy gloom 
marked the faces of the inhabitants; there was a dense 
population within the walls, struggling to escape, but 
knew not whence to fly, for no place of refuge offered a 
protection from the invisible hand that dealt destruction 
around. Tents were liberally furnished from the govern¬ 
ment stores, for some thousands, and pitched on the neu¬ 
tral ground, and the more wealthy hired accommodations 
on board of vessels in the bay. 

, The lieutenant-governor caused all the infected house* 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


351 


to be purified, the drains to be scoured, and every pre¬ 
caution to be adopted that the medical board could sug¬ 
gest, on purpose to stop the spreading contagion. 

The fever now made its appearance amongst the men 
of the 43d light infantry regiment, and they were ordered 
to camp. 

The 42d was the only corps left uninfected within 
the walls of the town, up to the 24th September, when a 
case was reported, and the regiment pitched camp next 
day. By this time the garrison report of daily deaths 
by fever had risen to fourteen. 

The epidemic, up to this time, had been confined to the 
town districts; but it now made its appearance in the 
South, and the three regiments quartered there encamped 
on Windmill Hill, Europa Flats, and Bonavista. 

On the 4tli of October, the deaths by fever were re¬ 
ported to be twenty-four. 

Dr. Hannan, an eminent physician and the principal me¬ 
dical officer, fell a victim to the fever: this was no small 
loss to the garrison, for he was particularly attentive in 
seeing every thing connected with his department per¬ 
formed promptly, and the patients had implicit confidence 
in his directions. 

The garrison chaplain, Mr. Hatchman, was infected as 
lie performed the last offices of religion over the grave of 
one of the soldiers. Mr. Baker, a methodist clergyman, 
volunteered his service, until another appointment should 
take place; but in three days thereafter, he also was 
laid in the grave. 

The town began to appear as if it had been deserted 
by its inhabitants; no busy jostling passengers crowded 

II h 2 



352 


RETROSPECT OP 


the streets; the few solitary pensive individuals that 
passed along, wore the sable weeds of woe, and seemed 
doubtful of any one that stopped to offer condolence; 
some families were entirely cut off, not a relation left to 
drop a tear to their memory. 

The soldiers who had been, previous to the now alarm¬ 
ing spread of the contagion, ready and willing to offer 
their services to attend the sick in hospital, became reluc¬ 
tant to undertake that dangerous duty; for, with one 
exception, every one who had undertaken it had become 
its victim. The last of the 42d to volunteer for this ser¬ 
vice was a man of very doubtful principles; he did not 
offer his services through any philanthropic motive in 
order to assist his suffering companions, but as a bravado; 
for he boastingly exclaimed, when his offer was accep¬ 
ted, “ I want to know the grand secret; it is likely I 
shall soon know it there,” meaning the hospital. In a few 
days he got that secret, which he will never communicate 
to another on earth. 

From this time the men forbore to offer their service, 
and even disputed the point if one man had missed his 
turn of this death-threatening duty. We had one man, 
nicknamed “ The Caravat,” who had been a volunteer for 
this duty, and had been some days in the situation before 
a system of daily relieving was adopted; he was there¬ 
fore considered as permanent; but he did not think so 
himself; he left the hospital, joined his company, and re¬ 
fused to return. For this act of disobedience, he was tried 
by a court-martial, and sentenced to solitary confinement 
in the Provost prison, where he died a few days after his 
committal. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


353 


As the contagion increased, the gloom became more 
apparent ; the soldiers felt some uneasiness on entering 
the town: men who had faced the enemy of their coun¬ 
try on the field of battle, shrunk back from this fell 
destroyer, that swept off whole sections without being 
seen,—himself seizing his victims, without letting them 
see their conqueror. 

Those in health took copious draughts, either of medi¬ 
cine or brandy, as antidotes; and the force of excite¬ 
ment, working on their minds as the medicine on their 
bodies, frequently threw them into an imaginary disorder, 
which was supposed to be the symptom of the epidemic, 
and off they were taken to the hospital, took the fever in 
reality, and returned no more. 

Covered carts, called dead-waggons, were stationed at 
certain places, on purpose to receive the dead and carry 
them to the grave-yard. If some sorrowing friends fol¬ 
lowed, it was at a respectful distance; and when the 
corpse was brought to the cemetery, the grave was ready, 
—a long deep trench extending from one side of the 
enclosure to the centre, in which the coffins were laid one 
over another, so as to fill up the vacuum. Until this 
method was adopted, some lay uninterred until morning. 

There was something peculiar in the manner in which 
the disease attacked its victims. Some it struck on the 
lower portion of the vertebras, whence it ascended the 
spine to the brain, attended witli the most acute pains, 
which brought on delirium and death. Others were first 
smitten in the head, whence it descended the spine as 
if it feasted on the spinal marrow and brain; but in both 
instances, its effects seemed to be the same. 

h h 3 


354 


RETROSPECT OF 


The greater number of those who died were the strongest 
men; very few women or children fell victims to this dis¬ 
ease. In the 42d, there were nine widows left whose 
husbands died during the epidemic, while only one woman 
fell a victim to it, and she was more particularly exposed 
to the virulence of the infection than any other, in con¬ 
sequence of her living in the hospital and being exposed 
to the fumes arising- from the washing-tub. 

It may not be improper to make some observations 
regarding the measures taken to prevent the spread of the 
epidemic when it made its appearance. Perhaps this 
may have been brought under notice by some of the 
medical gentlemen then residing at Gibraltar, but I have 
not heard of such. 

In the first place, a lazaretto was established, as I have 
already observed, on the north front glacis. Here three 
tents were pitched for the reception of those who were 
supposed to be infected, and, without doubt, they were so. 
And, it may be observed, that there could not have been 
a more injudicious selection of a site for a lazaretto with¬ 
out the walls than this was; for, close by this place, the 
soldiers on duty, and every person wdio had business from 
the town to Bayside village on the neutral ground, or to 
Cataline (the small village on the east side of the Rock), 
or to the camp, had to pass and repass, and have the 
infectious air wafted on him. This might have been 
avoided, by causing the lazaretto to be established outside 
of the \vall, south of Europa Flats, below Prince George’s 
Battery, where every communication could have been cut 
off, but with those having the charge. There a free 
breeze continually blows, either east or w'est, seldom from 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


355 


south or north, and no breath of infection could approach 
the Flats above from that secluded place. 

Secondly, two hospital waggons stood ready harnessed, 
from gun-fire* in the morning until sunset, on purpose to 
convey the sick from camp to hospital, and it was no un¬ 
common occurrence to take off ten or twelve daily from 
the different corps encamped on the neutral ground. 
These waggons had to pass the guards at Bayside, Land- 
port, Waterport, Flagstaff, and all the way to the South, 
about two miles, before it reached the hospital. If a man 
complained of a headache, or of the least indisposition of 
his body, it was supposed to be the fever, and off he was 
taken in the waggon. Now, if the disease was really of 
that malignant nature attributed to it, and of which there 
was not the least occasion to doubt, was there a more 
likely way of getting it than in those waggons, closely 
covered over with woollen cloth ? Many of those who 
were taken to the hospital requested leave to walk, but 
were not permitted. There was none, however, of whom 
I heard, that entered one of those waggons, escaped the 
contagion. 

Thirdly, the dead were brought back all the way in 
covered carts from the hospital to the grave-yard, in the 
very centre of the camp. Now, it may be supposed, that 
if the least germ of infection can attach itself to any object 
so as to infect animal existence, none is more likely than 
the corpse which has fallen a victim to the disease; it 
may be doubtful from the person who is only supposed to 
be affected by it, but certain from the dead who have died 

* A gun is fired every morning at daybreak, and at sunset every 


evening. 


356 


RETROSPECT OF 


of it; and of which certainty, the deaths of the officiating 
clergymen were convincing proofs. 

It was not for paying any honours to the last remains 
of the poor soldier, that his contaminating corpse was 
brought about two miles for interment. There was no 
military honour paid to officer or private; all funereal 
parades were dropped: not a soldier accompanied the 
coffin; the carman was the only mourner that attended it 
from the hospital to the grave. It may therefore be 
asked, Why were the dead brought all the way back to 
the camp, when there were not only grave-yards in the 
south, without bringing them through the town, but 
ample space contiguous to the hospital, where the remains 
of our departed companions .could have been deposited in 
peace, without being brought back as a signal of craving- 
more patients to fill up the hospital ? With respect to 
the conveyance of the sick to hospital, this was less 
blameable, and was partly remedied at the suggestion of 
the physicians sent out from England, by the erection of 
temporary hospitals convenient to the camp. 

The following Table shows the casualties by epidemic 
in ' the respective corps forming the garrison, from the 
1st September, 1828, to the 16th January, 1829. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


357 



Strength of 




Corps. 

the Corps, 
Sergeants, 
Drummers, 

Admit¬ 
ted to 

Died. 

Remarks. 


and Rank- 

Hospital. 




and-file. 




Royal Staff) 
Corps J 

21 

14 

5 

The principal medi¬ 
cine used in the lios- 




pital, in the treatment 
of the patients suffer¬ 
ing by this fever, was 

Royal Ar- | 
tillery j 

315 

191 

69 

calomel ; and when 
this did not salivate, 
in some cases, if not 
in all, mercurial oint- 


Royal Sap-1 

98 

40 

19 

ment was made use of 
by rubbing in. I have 

pers j 




seen a statement of 

12th Regt. 

556 

266 

53 

the quantity used by 
each of the three re- 

giments forming the 
north camp; namely, 
the 12th, 42d, and 




47 

23d ditto 

520 

169 

43d. But as it can be 


538 


54 

of no interest to the 
reader, I do not give it 

42d ditto 

221 

a place here. It is cer¬ 
tain, however, that the 
regiment which had 



43d ditto 

519 

200 

89 

the greatest number 
of patients used the 
least calomel and oint- 

73d ditto 

541 

173 

32 

ment, and only one- 
fifth of the patients 
died ; while the regi- 

94th ditto 

527 

254 

54 

ment that used most 
had the fewest pa¬ 
tients and a third 
more of deaths. So 






3635 

1528 

422 

much for calomel as 
a cure. 


I should have remarked, that on the death of Dr. Han¬ 
nan, Dr. Broadfoot was nominally appointed principal 
medical officer to the garrison. Soon after this appoint¬ 
ment, England, with her usual care for her colonies, sent 














358 


RETROSPECT OP 


out some eminent physicians to examine into the nature 

of the epidemic, and to give their advice and assistance in 

the treatment of the patients. Among the number thus 

sent was Dr. Barry, a gentleman whose extensive practice 

on the unsalubrious shores of Africa, and in tropical 

climates, rendered his service at this time no common 

» 

acquisition, and the garrison owed to him, after his arrival, 
not a little for the means adopted for counteracting the 
further spread of the disease; and, although he did not 
meet with that cordial welcome from the lately nominated 
principal medical officer, which was due to one of such 
acknowledged superior abilities, yet every one else hailed 
his arrival with joy. 

The camp began to break up on the 9th January, and 
before the end of the month, no symptoms of epidemic 
existed. The courts of justice and places of public wor¬ 
ship were re-opened, and thanks returned to the Almighty 
for the restoration of health. 

His excellency, the lieutenant-governor, commissioned a 
board of officers to assemble, on purpose to ascertain the 
cause by which the epidemic was admitted, as there were 
conflicting opinions entertained regarding its appearance. 
Some maintained that it sprung from the filthy state of 
the drains, others that it was endemical to the place, while 
a third party insisted upon its having been imported. 

This inquiry led to no satisfactory result, as each party 
maintained its own previous opinion respecting the cause. 
The majority of the board, however, were against impor¬ 
tation ; and here the matter rests: and whatever may 
have been the cause, Gibraltar may in general be con¬ 
sidered a very healthy place, and fit for the resort of 
invalids for the recovery of health. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


359 


The following is a State of the Population, exclusive of 
the military, in April, 1829, after the fever had disap¬ 
peared, and some thousands of strangers expelled and re¬ 
fused to he readmitted to the town. 



Males. 

Females. 


Nations or Classes. 

i 

Above 

12 Years. 

Under 
.2 Years. 

Above 

12 Years. 

Under 

2 Years. 

Total. 

British sub- 1 
jects not > 

native j 

399 

86 

290 

96 

971 

Native Chris- ) 
tians / 

1,293 

2,065 

1,583 

1,967 

6,908 

Native Jews 

379 

234 

409 

278 

1,300 

Barbary Jews 

381 

14 

46 

5 

446 

Brazilians 

4 

2 

3 

1 

10 

French 

46 

.— 

20 

— 

66 

Genoese 

946 

93 

411 

88 

1,538 

Italians 

127 

22 

34 

10 

193 

Moors 

11 

2 

1 

4 

18 

Portuguese 

570 

35 

283 

22 

910 

Prussians 

3 

— 

1 

— 

4 

Russians 

1 

> — 

— 

2 

3 

Germans 

56 

— 

10 

— 

66 

Spaniards 

1,492 

189 

2,064 

181 

3,926 

Swedes 

2 

— 

1 

— 

3 

Swiss 

5 

— 

1 

•— 

6 

Turks 

12 

— 

— 

— 

12 

S. Americans 

10 

1 

5 

•— 

16 

United States 

5 

1 

2 

2 

10 


5,742 

2,744 

5,264 

2,656 

16,406 






















360 


RETROSPECT OF 


Now, as the population on the Rock was supposed to 
exceed twenty thousand, exclusive of the military, before 
the epidemic made its appearance, if we allow the same 
proportion of deaths to have taken place among the in¬ 
habitants as among the military, and there certainly were 
more, the loss could not have been under two thousand 
three hundred. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


361 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

Jews.—Police, Spanish Insurgents, Skirmish at Lena.—Priest-ridden 

State of Spain—Bayside Village.—Improvements of Gibraltar_ 

Baron De Lehften’s Epitaph—Consumption of Ardent Spirits. 

It will be seen by the Table in the preceding chapter, 

that there is a considerable number of Jews residing on 

© 

the Rock; and it is to be observed, that not a few of the 
mercantile speculations are conducted by them. They are 
not excluded from any civil employment, and it is rare 
to find one of them betray any public trust confided to 
him. When we witness their mercantile abilities, their 
devoted attachment to a religion that hurts not the nation 
in which it is tolerated, it is somewhat surprising that 
they are not held in more esteem than they really are. 
Like the Society of Friends, they form no hostile inten¬ 
tions towards the state which gives them protection; they 
set up no rivalships for converts, to cause jealousy; their 
religion is that from which we have partly drawn our 
own, and that to which we refer in many cases for reli¬ 
gious observances. If these people have acquired a bad 
name for extortion and usury, it may justly be ascribed 
to the many arbitrary impositions to which they have 
been subjected. Their men of capital have so long been 




362 


RETROSPECT OF 


obliged to advance loans to hazardous speculators, crafty 
politicians, and thriftless heirs, who too often make it 
a merit to overreach a Jew, exult in doing so, and after¬ 
wards become his most violent persecutors, that it was no 
wonder when he made advances at so great a hazard, not 
only of his property, but of his personal safety, his de¬ 
mands should have been made in proportion to the risk 
he encountered. 

The police of Gibraltar is w T ell conducted, and crime is 
of rare occurrence. In the course of six years and up¬ 
wards that the regiment was stationed here, only one 
execution took place, and that was of the execrable Benito 
De Sota, a Portuguese pirate, who fled hither from Cadiz, 
where his wicked crew had been apprehended and exe¬ 
cuted; and here he met with the fate he so richly 
merited. 

The Spanish authorities, on the Andalusian and Grana¬ 
dian coasts, had been, for some time previous to our 
arrival at Gibraltar, greatly annoyed by a set of malcon¬ 
tents, or buccaneers, that under the Colombian flag com¬ 
mitted hostilities, captured their traders, and brought 
them into the bay, where the illegal booty was sold with 
impunity, and the captors prepared to commit fresh out¬ 
rages. 

CJ 

The lieutenant-governor was far from countenancing 
this lawless measure; but as no insult was offered to the 
British flag, nor any breach of peace committed within the 
bounds of his government, he had no cause to interfere. 
The British press, however, teemed with encomiums on 
the patriotism of the Spaniards of Andalusia; but the 
people of Gibraltar saw very little patriotism, or even 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


363 


excitement, except that which was exhibited by a set of 
the scum of the Rock or cast-aways of Spain. Several 
feluccas lay in the bay, having these ragged wretched- 
looking creatures on board, in order to proceed upon 
some nocturnal enterprise,—for they were incapable of 
doing any thing further than alarming the peaceable 
peasantry in their defenceless abodes, and committing acts 
of midnight robbery, when they dared to set their foot 
on the Spanish soil,—but they were so closely watched 
by the guarda-costas , or gun-boats, that they felt afraid to 
venture on landing by day. On the night of the 18th, 
however, or early on the morning of the 19th January, 
1831, about thirty of those ycleped patriots, under the 
command of a fellow who had been for some time a cmar- 

O 

maker in Gibraltar, and had previously been in the Spa¬ 
nish service with the rank of sergeant, effected a landing 
near Lena, a small village on the Spanish lines, took it by 
surprise, and drove the small detachment which formed 
its garrison out towards Campo, another small village 
about a mile distant, on the road to San Roque, where it 
rallied, and being supported by another detachment sta¬ 
tioned there, turned upon the banditti and frightened 
them back to Lena. By this time the troops garrisoned 
at San Roque were alarmed, and came to the assistance of 
the detachments. Day had not yet begun to dawn; but 
the morning was particularly favourable for the Patriots , 
had their plan of attack been well digested, actively and 
unhesitatingly pursued, and the first advantage followed 
up. 

On the junction of the Spanish troops, a scene opened, 
somewhat interesting to the thousands assembled on the 

i i 2 



364 


RETROSPECT OF 


north front of the garrison. Here the picquets were or¬ 
dered to be in readiness, the outposts were reinforced, and 
the men of the two regiments, quartered in the Grand . 
Casemates, started from their beds to witness the distant 
engagement. 

The Hostile parties were not yet discernible from the 
walls, but the flash of the musketry was seen, and the 
reports distinctly heard. 

The road to Campo runs along a sandy beach front 
Lena, and on tlxis beach the Spanish troops were appa¬ 
rently drawn up in extended order, facing the bay, to¬ 
wards which their aim was directed. What could have 
induced them to discharge their pieces into the bay is best 
known to themselves, but seemed mysterious to a distant 
spectator. 

A number of sand-hillocks extend from the beach to a 
considerable distance inland, and if the insurgents had 
occupied these judiciously, after having taken possession 
of Lena, and used the least stratagy, they might have 
very easily set the different parties opposed to them 
against one another; but the whole plan of attack was 
ill conducted, and the defence, though successful, was far 
from being creditable to the victors. 

Day began to dawn, the flash of the musket was hid 
in the smoke of the charge, but the combatants were dis¬ 
tinguishable ; about one hundred soldiers (foot and horse) 
pursuing about twenty ill-armed straggling fellows to¬ 
wards the British lines; this was the only point of re¬ 
treat ; and even here they were threatened to be driven 
back upon their pursuers; but a more generous spirit 
allowed them refuge. Thus closed the scene, and con- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


365 


eluded a farce truly ludicrous and contemptible, though it 
afforded a subject of considerable interest to foreign libe- 
ralists, to expatiate upon what they were pleased to call 
“ The good Cause.” 

There was at that time a young gentleman of our na¬ 
tion remarkably zealous in the cause of the Spanish libe¬ 
rals; the rank he held may be somewhat questionable, 
whether field-officer or paymaster; be this as it may, he 
had funds at his disposal, and they were devoted to the 
service of these malcontents; and after this unsuccessful 
attempt, he was so far imposed upon by false information 
and over-zeal in a worthless cause, to lead a similar enter¬ 
prise, or accompany it to Malaga, where he was taken 
prisoner and put to death with a number of his fol¬ 
lowers. 

I may observe, that Spain is far from being in a state 
for a successful reformation, either in church or state. 
The peasantry are too much under the control of the 
clergy to undertake any great concern with unanimity; 
for the one-half or two-thirds of the country is the pro¬ 
perty of the church, or of institutions depending upon it; 
therefore, its tenantry are ready to support the clergy un¬ 
der all circumstances. 

The inhabitants of large towns, though disaffected to¬ 
wards government, and clamorous for reform, have not 
the spirit to accomplish it. They are bold in a tumult, 
disorderly in the field, and cowardly in a fight; their 
weapons are directed against the unguarded, and the 
poignard of the assassin is more to be dreaded than the 
sword of the open foe. The nobles have too much to 
hazard by offering themselves as leaders, or even stimula- 

i i 3 




366 


RETROSPECT OF 


tors to rebellion; their younger sons become dignitaries 
of the church, and their daughters are appointed abbesses 
of nunneries. In short, the clerical orders compose the 
most influential part of the population, and form an im¬ 
pregnable harrier round the throne of absolute power and 
the altar of intolerance, resisting all the approaches of 
supposed liberalism. The church absorbs all the wealth 
of the country; the people are pleased to give, and are 
gratified by being permitted to kneel before those splendid 
shrines which draw off the national resources, and leave 
nothing but poverty, ignorance, and superstition to the 
worshippers. 

Under the present system, nothing can be introduced 
to counteract this mental debasement, as there is no tole¬ 
ration for any other religion than that of Rome. 

I have made mention, in the foregoing chapter, of Bay- 
side village, on the neutral ground; it was situated on 
the western beach, and has been lately razed to the 
foundation. This has been a great loss, not only to the 
proprietors, but to the respectable families residing in 
Gibraltar, as it afforded the latter an agreeable retreat in 
the summer season, and enabled the females to enjoy 
bathing-quarters, which could not be so easily obtained 
otherwise. It is not generally known what was the cause 
which led to the annihilation of that village; whether it 
was in compliance with existing treaties with Spain, or 
in order to prevent smuggling, or to prevent offenders 
being sheltered from the laws of their country. Each of 
these causes has been assigned for its erazement. If in 
compliance with the former, it was just; if for either of 
the latter purposes, unnecessary; for, by a recent act 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


367 


since its erazement, the British jurisdiction lias been ex¬ 
tended, by royal authority, over that part of the neutral 
ground within the British lines; and as for smuggling, 
the preventive means were sufficient to put a stop to it; 
and I must add, that the principal smuggling was, and 
perhaps is, where it would be least suspected, namely, at 
the King’s Dockyard. There may have been another 
reason, however, namely, that in the event of a war with 
Spain, the inhabitants without the walls would be all 
under the necessity of taking refuge within. Thus, when 
there would be a good political reason to expel, humanity 
would urge the necessity of admitting, and would prevail. 
The population, thus increased within the walls by those 
who would be obliged to abandon their property without, 
instead of strengthening the internal resources, would 
weaken them by an increased demand on the supplies. 
Had any thing like encouragement been given by Britain 
to the extension of buildings on and around the rock, we 
might have seen, before this time, a second Carthage 
rising up in commercial enterprise, under the protection of 
this impregnable fort. 

But whatever may have been the cause for the anni¬ 
hilation of that village, there is none existing now for 
allowing the site on which it stood to remain unimproved ; 
it ought to be enclosed and converted into gardens. This 
might be done at little or no expense, further than that of 
the fence, and the wear of tools at present rusting in the 
stores. It may be said that the site on which the village 
stood has no vegetable mould on its surface; but this ob¬ 
jection should have no weight, as the necessary quantity 
might be easily obtained by the industry of those who 



368 


RETROSPECT OF 


might he invested with perpetual tenures of the respective 
lots so enclosed, as heritable property. And where so 
many soldiers are kept, why not employ them an hour or 
two, every fine day, in converting what is now useless to 
the general good ? 

There is another improvement much to be desired, 
though more for ornament than public benefit; namely, 
to plant some evergreens round the cemetery on the neu¬ 
tral ground. A belt of yew or cypress would add much 
to its appearance. 

It is remarked by some author, in treating of the 
manners and customs of a certain people, that they con¬ 
sidered the being buried in a particular cemetery the 
greatest honour which could be conferred by the state on 
departed worth; and Mr. Maginn seems to feel somewhat 
disposed to a like opinion, when speaking of the dead that 
lie in this place, when he says, “ No church bell rings 
above their heads; but when the sea lashes the beach, 
and the wind sweeps by the high rock, and the thunder 
of the cannon roars from their caves, and the sulphureous 
smoke mingles with the mist of the rock, one would almost 
wish to be among the dead so sublimely honoured.” 

I cannot say how proud I should be of the honour; but 
I certainly should feel proud of my country, when I could 
see such improvements spreading wide under its fostering 
influence. This cemetery is nearly a mile in circum¬ 
ference, and contains a few beautiful tombstones, hut none 
of a date previous to the siege. 

There are few persons hut feel occasionally inclined to 
muse over the fleeting changes of life; and what place 
can afford a quieter retreat than that which is appropriated 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


369 


to tlie reception of the dead. Here we may look upon 
each tablet as the page of some volume, offering to the 
reader a useful lesson on the vanity, folly, and ambition of 
man; at the same time, we shall find not a little to excite 
a sympathetic feeling for those who have raised these 
little fast-perishing monuments, more perhaps out of a 
desire to perpetuate their own act of gratitude, or what¬ 
ever we may call it, than to commemorate aught worthy 
of being recorded of the dead. Upwards of three hundred 
stones bear on their faces as many epitaphs; some com¬ 
memorative of the virtues and the services of the different 
tenants of the grave; others are testimonials of parental 
affection for children under eighteen months of age. How 
weak are the poor man’s efforts to eternize his name ! The 
oldest tablet has scarcely passed its thirtieth year, record¬ 
ing the age and virtues of the deceased; yet, short as this 
time is, the inscription is almost effaced, the stone is 
fallen, a stranger is about to be laid in the spot, and per¬ 
haps another year will see this testimonial serving as a 
pedestal to another. 

In this extensive cemetery the Roman Catholics have a 
quarter assigned for themselves. The Jews have also a 
small spot, without the pale of Christian interments, but 
close to the enclosure; they have also another place of 
burial above Windmill Hill. What silly prejudices influ¬ 
ence men’s minds in this world, and seem to follow them 
to the grave! 

There is also a beautiful cemetery, shaded with cypress 
and other trees, near the sand-pits. This is the burial- 
ground for the officers of the army and navy, and inhabi¬ 
tants of distinction. 


370 


RETROSPECT OF 


There are other two cemeteries at Southport,—one in 
the fosse, south of the wall, and the other on the north 
side. Here rest the remains of several officers who died 
during the siege. The following epitaph on one of the 
stones, now almost buried in the ground and covered with 
grass and weeds, may perhaps be deserving of notice :— 

“ Here lies 

WILLIAM, BARON DE LEHFTEN, 

Major in His Majesty’s Electoral Regiment of Foot, 
Commanded by Lieutenant-general De Redden, 

Who departed this life at Gibraltar, 

The 20th December, 1778, 

In the 46tli year of his age and the 29tli of Ins service. 

He was married to Lady Charlotte, Countess De Damath, 

By whom he had two Sons and one Daughter, 

Who, truly grieved for the loss of the best of Husbands and Fathers, 
Recommend the preservation of his remains 
To the generous faith of the Britons.” 

V 

This stone, being placed under such keeping, should 
not be suffered to sink neglected and disregarded into the 
earth; a few years will, however, in all appearance, efface 
from it the name of him who fought for the Britons ; of 
him whose grateful children, in filial affection, have given 
it to the safe keeping of those under whose banners he 
fought. May this small record of mine be serviceable in 
restoring this testimonial to its original state. 

I may remark, before taking leave of the Rock, that 
there is a considerable quantity of ardent spirits used in 
Gibraltar; but for one gallon of our own native distilla¬ 
tion imported, there are more than five hundred of gin 
and brandy. Indeed, whisky is not to be got in any of 
the taverns or spirit-dealers’ houses in the town, with the 
exception of one, and seldom in it; and when to be ob- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


371 


tained, it is charged higher than any of the other liquors, 
although it can be imported so as to sell at the same price. 
There is an excise duty of two shillings and two-pence on 
each gallon of spirits, of whatever kind or quality. Now, 
it may reasonably he asked, Why is there not a consider¬ 
able less duty on that which is distilled in Britain or Ire¬ 
land, than on that of any other country ? Here would be 
a good outlet for our agricultural produce, in small bulk; 
and, I may add, Malta and the Ionian Islands are simi¬ 
larly situated with regard to spirit consumption and duty. 
It is but reasonable to think that some preference might 
be given to our home distillation, without in the least 
promoting intemperance. 




372 


RETROSPECT OF 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

Malta and its Harbours.—The Knights of Malta.—Superstitious Ob¬ 
servances.—Religious Processions.—Begging Money for Masses 
for the Dead.—The Pauper’s Burial.—The removal of the Ma- 

dona de la Carmel, and Restoration_Poverty and Beggars.— 

Venomous Reptiles.—Barrack Servants.—The Peasant’s Home¬ 
stead.—Conclusion. 

After having been stationed six years in Gibraltar, the 
regiment received orders to embark for Malta; accord¬ 
ingly, in January, 1832, we left the Rock, and after a 
voyage of twenty days, arrived safely at our destination. 

Malta is situated between the coasts of Barbary and 
Sicily, so near to the latter, that in a clear morning, 
Mount Etna may be seen without the aid of a telescope. 
The face of the island does not present an inviting pro¬ 
spect from the sea. The soil is in general shallow, 
resting on a bed of rock; even in the valleys and gentle 
slopes it is not deep, and, on the sides of the heights that 
rise rather abruptly, it must be sustained by a succession 
of dry-stone walls, as breastworks, to prevent its being 
washed off or blown away. Thus, broken rocks, dry- 
stone walls, houses somewhat resembling lime-kilns, or 
the ruins of old watch-towers, without windows or chim¬ 
neys, and without the shade of a single tree, present, on 
our approach, a rather uninviting and sterile appearance, 



A MILITARY LIFE. 373 

as we see less of the verdure than of the hare rock and 
loose stones; but when we land and ascend some com¬ 
manding eminence, so as to enable us to look down upon 
the country, the prospect is truly pleasant; for, although 
woods or streams are not to be seen, yet we descry ten 
thousand patches of ground spread around in all the 
beauties of paradise. There the orchard produces, not 
only the fruits common to Britain, but the orange, the 
lime, the pomegranate, the almond, and the fig-tree, all 
bearing fruit in their season; while here and there a 
stunted locust throws out its dark leafy branches to shade 
the goat and kid from the scorching rays of the sun. 

Notwithstanding that the vegetable mould is scanty, 
and said to be foreign to Malta, yet when it is laid down 
on the face of the rock to the depth of six inches, it be¬ 
comes sufficiently productive, and would, without doubt, 
adhere and increase, without having recourse to those 
breast-works, which are deemed necessary at present along 
the face of rising ground, were an improved system of 
tillage introduced and enforced. The crops are generally 
pulled up by the root instead of being cut, and no ad¬ 
hesive sod being left, the surface is ready to be blown or 
washed away. 

Valletta, the capital of Malta, is built on a finger of 
land or rock pointing to the Levant; the quarantine har¬ 
bour on the north, and the main or grand harbour on the 
south side. On the west or landward side there is a high 
wall, and a deep, broad, dry trench, cut out of the solid 
rock ; on the other side of this trench are horn-works and 
glacis. The exterior fortifications are upwards of a mile 
beyond this wall, and enclose the Floriana district, which 

K K 


j 





RETROSPECT OF 


374 

has a barrack for a regiment, a spacious exercising-grouncl 
for the troops, a public mall or garden, a military hospital, 
an orphan hospital, a workhouse for the indigent of both 
sexes, two friaries, three cemeteries, besides the village of 
Floriana with its churches. All these lie between the 
principal wall of the city and the landward front fortifica¬ 
tions, which are works of great strength, but by far too 
extensive for a small army to defend, were it possible for 
an enemy to effect a landing on the island. 

On the north side of the quarantine harbour is another 
fmger or strip of land, on the point of which is Fort Ma¬ 
nuel ; and along the side fronting the harbour is an exten- 
ive range of buildings appropriated for stores and the 
purification of goods coming from the Levant, or by ves¬ 
sels not having a clean bill of health. 

On the south side of the grand harbour is the Cottonera 
district, which includes several villages; namely, Vittori- 
osa, St. Salvadore, Burmola, St. Frances de Paulo, and 
Ido; all so closely connected together, that they may be 
said to be but one town, enclosed by one extensive wall 
towards the landward side, and the whole commanded by 
the higher batteries of Valletta. The entrances of both 
harbours are so strongly defended by Fort Manuel, Fort 
Kicasoli, St. Angelo, and other batteries pointing towards 
the entrance of the harbours, that no vessel could enter in 
a hostile manner without being destroyed; and it may 
be said, there is no danger to be apprehended of an ene¬ 
my attempting to make an attack upon the island, while 
Britain maintains its sovereignty by sea. This was not 
the case, however, when Malta was governed by the 
knights; for those fanatics were ever at wur with the 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


375 


Mahomedan states, and afforded refuge and protection to 
every vessel that offered an insult to the Turkish flag. 
These champions of the cross have been eulogized by 
many celebrated writers, for their great prowess in war, 
their fortitude in bearing patiently the privations incident 
to a military life, and for affording assistance and protec¬ 
tion to the enemies of the crescent. Much of this may 
have been truth; yet, on the whole, it is but justice to 
say, that by their fanatical zeal to support the papal 
authority, they kept the one coast of the Mediterranean 
in continual dread of the other. On every breach of 
peace, if peace could be said to exist where no confidence 
was placed by the contracting parties for its maintenance, 
the knights were the aggressors, declaring themselves to 
be the injured party. The words of peace were always 
on their lips, while war and piracy were at their hearts. 
The Moslems, no less bigoted to their creed, never failed 
to make reprisals, capturing every vessel of the Christian 
powers that they considered allied to the interests of 
Malta, and frequently those who were at peace with both 
parties. It is not my intention, however, to trouble the 
reader with the achievements of the knights of Malta; 
abler writers have given them a celebrity for magnanimity 
and Christian virtues, which, in my humble opinion, they 
never merited. 

Agreeably to the rules of this sovereign order, no native 
of the island could rise to the dignity of grand-master. 
This, though not flattering to the pride of a wealthy 
aspiring native, was certainly much to the interest of the 
order, as well as to the inhabitants, as it not only pre¬ 
vented any ambitious caballing native rising to that rank 

K K 2 


376 


RETROSPECT OF 


and confining liis patronage to family connexions, but it 
was an inducement to the sons of the continental nobles 
to become candidates for the order; and their nomi¬ 
nation brought additional revenues to the island. By 
this means the income was immense, and still increasing, 
by the annexation of continental heritages, bishoprics, 
priories, and investitures of one kind or another, civil or 
clerical, in favour of the order. Thus Malta could not 
fail to rise in repute in the eyes of the continental petty 
powers, as the knights were all scions of the aristo¬ 
cratic houses of Italy, Germany, France, Spain, or Por¬ 
tugal. 

Previous to the Lutheran reformation in the sixteenth 
century, it is said that the order held no fewer than nine¬ 
teen thousand manors within the bounds of Christendom ; 
these, though they may have been but of small extent, 
serve to show the great influence the knights must have 
had throughout Europe, and of what importance it was to 
the Maltese to have the revenues of those distant posses¬ 
sions expended within their small island. 

It is remarked by Mr. Sutherland, in his “ History of 
the Achievements of the Knights of Malta,” that, “ In 
1237, the Latin Christians having been defeated, the 
grand-master ordered large succours from the West, and 
that among others, there went from the house of the order 
in Clerkenwell, London, three hundred knights, preceded 
by Theodoric their prior, at the head of a considerable 
body of stipendiaries. They marched with the banner of 
St. John unfurled before them; and as they passed over 
London Bridge, saluted, with hood in hand, the crowds 
who congregated to see them depart, recommending them- 


A MILITARY LIFE. 377 

selves and their cause, at the same time, to the prayers of 
the people.” 

The order was divided or classed into nine languages; 
at the head of each was a grand-knight, subordinate to 
the grand-master, who presided over the whole, and was 
sovereign of Malta; or rather president, for he was elected 
tor life by the grand-knights, or knights of the order. 

Some idea may be formed of one of those grand-kniglits' 
establishments, when, at the present day (1832), one of 
their palaces (the Auberge de Castile) affords accommo¬ 
dation for the officers of a regiment, their servants, a 
mess-room and kitchen, with apartments for the mess- 
man and mess servants, quarters for several of the garrison 
staff-officers, a barrack-office, besides stabling for horses. „ 

The inquisitor’s palace is now the quarters of the officers 
of another regiment, with their mess establishment. 

The knights were bound, agreeably to the rules of the 
order, not only to celibacy, but to perpetual poverty. 
Thus, by their having no wives or legitimate children to 
call upon them for future establishments, they became the 
more active patronisers of the poor; and by the revenues 
drawn from their domains on the continent, they were 
able to maintain a formidable navy, which ever active 
in committing hostilities along the Barbary and Asiatic 
coasts, brought in much spoil, and enriched the seamen as 
well as the traders who resorted to Malta. 

Eacl\ grand-master of the order, with few exceptions, 
studied to excel his predecessor, not only in his fanatical 
zeal to crush the Mahomedans, but in erecting and en¬ 
dowing chapels, establishing friaries, and bestowing alms 
on the poor. By the one, they perverted the mild spirit of 

K Iv 3 


378 RETROSPECT OF 

the Gospel into an intolerant, implacable, blood-thirsty, 
war-breathing demon, against all opposed to their creed; 
by the other, the whole wealth that flowed into the trea¬ 
sury was absorbed by the church, or wasted in encouraging 
idleness and pauperism. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, on taking this island, fixed his 
eagle eye on the useless wealth with which the churches 
were filled, seized the misapplied treasure, and freighted 
a ship with the silver saints, golden angels, and costly 
ornaments of altars. He reduced the number of the clergy, 
of the friars, and of the nuns; but if these orders have 
not greatly increased since the island was placed under 
the protection of England, their reduction, when the 
French took possession, was a measure much wanted, for 
at present they form about one-tenth of the adult popula¬ 
tion of the whole island. 

The churches, notwithstanding their desecration by 
the French, are still rich in pictures, images, and gold 
and silver ornaments. But not to the places of worship 
alone are those images confined; there is not a public 
outlet from the city by any of the gateways but has its 
patron saint over the gate, in a recess under the arch, 
with a small altar placed on a terrace before it, with seve¬ 
ral candlesticks and wax candles. Below these, and within 
reach of a person’s hand, there are begging boxes, and a 
framed picture fastened in the side of the archways. To 
these the Maltee makes a prostration, mumbles a prayer, 
puts his fingers to the picture, and then kisses them; this 
he repeats three times and passes on. Over these begging 
boxes are inscriptions, one of which I shall present here to 
the reader; I believe it is in the Italian language. 

o o 


I 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


379 


“ L Eccllmo E. R. Mo Monsignro F. R. A. D. Ferdi- 
nando Mattei Arciviscovia Di Rodi E Yescovo Di Melta 
Concede 40 Giornis D. Indulgenza A Chiunque Recettera 
En Ave Maria S. 81 M. A Sempre Yergine Sotto Li. 
H>th Not. 1810." 

I shall not pretend to give a correct translation of the 
foregoing, but the following is the import.—“ The most 
excellent Ferdinando Mattei, Archbishop of Rhodes and 
Bishop of Malta, grants forty days’ indulgence to whom¬ 
soever shall recite an Hail Mary before this image of the 
Nativity of Mary, always a virgin. 16th Nov. 1810.” 

It is an obligation binding on every Roman Catholic, 
on receiving the sacrament of confirmation, to name a 
saint for his patron; and such is the importance attached 
to this saint by the individual patronised, that an image 
of stoneware is purchased as a representative. Enter 
any paltry coffeehouse in Malta, and you will see the 
patron saint over the bar, with a small receptacle for holy 
water at its feet, and a candle or lamp burning on each 
side. And such is the importance attached to images, 
pictures, and crosses, that they are to be found not only 
in the most sacred but in the most profane places. 

The reader may think that I exaggerate; but I am too 

confident of the ease with which my testimony could be 

«/ »' 

refuted by a thousand of my fellow-soldiers who have been 
in Malta, to attempt publishing a falsehood. 

Having thus briefly mentioned the honour, I may say 
the adoration, paid to images, I may here observe, that 
the anniversaries of some of the saints are more particu¬ 
larly distinguished than others by the manner in which 
they are celebrated; just as in Britain or Ireland the 


380 


RETROSPECT OF 


anniversaries of St. George, St. Patrick, and St. Andrew, 
are more generally observed than those of the other names 
in the calendar. 

With regard to what may be called the lesser saints, in 
Malta, the anniversary may be observed as a festival by a 
particular congregation, whose patron that saint may be, but 
not by all the inhabitants; and if a procession take place 
on this little holiday, it is insignificant when compared 
with the more pompous pageants that take place on gene¬ 
ral festivals. On these high occasions, from daybreak until 
after sunset, the bells never cease their noisy peals, * save 
when a momentary interval is allowed for salvos of artil¬ 
lery. This last duty was for several years performed by 
British artillery, under the command of British officers ; 
but in consequence of two subalterns refusing, or wilfully 
neglecting to comply, the British troops are not now 
called upon to participate in any of those complimentary 
services in honour of the saints. This duty is now per¬ 
formed by natives, furnished with ordnance for the pur¬ 
pose, and the Maltese fencible regiment is the only corps 
that takes any part in those observances. The two officers 
alluded to were, however, dismissed from the service, and 
certainly had little cause to find fault with this decision. 
The officer who refuses to perform so harmless a duty as 
that of superintending the firing a salvo in honour of a 
saint or a sinner, for the gratification of a superstitious 
crowd, is himself equally as superstitious, self-opinionated, 

* I suppose no place in the world exceeds Malta in the number of 
bells, the deafening knells of which drown the sound of drums, bugles, 
and trumpets, and are a most dreadful annoyance to every ear, save 
that of the superstitious devotee, who believes them capable of fright¬ 
ening away the devil. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


381 


and bigoted as any of the crowd who may feel gratified 
by the performance. 

On Thursday before Easter, a procession in commemo¬ 
ration of Christ’s passion and sufferings is marshalled at 
and proceeds from a church in the Strado St. Paulo 
(St. Paul Street) of Valletta; another at the church of 
the Annunciation in the Strado Victoria, in Islo (a part 
of the city on the opposite side of the grand harbour), be¬ 
sides others in different villages; and a similar one takes 
place the day following (Good Friday) from a church near 
the inquisitor’s palace. By detailing the order in which 
one of these is conducted, the reader may form an idea 
of the others, as any one pageant is as puerile, ridiculous, 
and absurd as another, although they do not all exhibit the 
same number of figures or images as that which I shall 
here describe. 

The procession in the commemoration of Christ’s suf¬ 
ferings makes its debut from the church of St. Paul, about 
four o’clock in the afternoon, preceded by one solitary 
drum and fife; three stout friars follow, the centre one 
carrying a cross, large enough for the purpose of cruci¬ 
fixion ; it is held upright, and a cord descending from each 
arm is held by the accompanying friars, to preserve its 
equilibrium. Twelve or more persons follow by twoes, in 
rank, dressed in long robes like priests’ gowns, apparently 
of unbleached cotton, descending to their bare feet, and 
girded round their waists with plaited cords, and tassels 
dangling to their knees. These persons have veils of the 
same cloth as the robes, with loopholes opposite the eyes, 
the nose, and mouth, and they hold large wax candles, or 
rods, each about the size of a mop-handle, surmounted by 


382 


RETROSPECT OF 


a paper lanttiorn ; this is lit soon after sunset, when the 
procession is joined by most of the principal inhabi¬ 
tants, with wax candles and lanthorns. A greater or 
less number of persons, similarly dressed, veiled, and 
appointed, follow in the intervals between each succeed¬ 
ing figure, which I shall mention as it passes in revieAv 
before us. 

The first, which follows the cross, represents Christ 
kneeling in the garden of Gethsemane, and an angel 
holding a chalice for him to drink. These are fixed on a 
platform the size of a billiard-table, and borne on the 
shoulders of eight or more porters. 

The second figure, as large as life, and supported in 
like manner, is Christ, bound with cords, as about to ap - 
pear before Pilate. 

The third presents Christ naked, after having been 
scourged, and the back streams with blood. 

The fourth represents Him crowned with thorns; the 
face, the shoulders, and the whole body seem streaming 
with blood. This figure is not only followed by the per¬ 
sons with veils, but by a section similarly dressed and 
veiled, having iron chains fastened to their ankles, and 
dragging after them; and the streets being in many 
places descending and rising in stairs, these chains some¬ 
times fall down on the uncovered feet, and lacerate the 
miserable sinner who thus submits himself to this sup¬ 
posed expiation of his sins. 

The fifth figure represents our Saviour fallen under the 
burden of the cross. This is also followed by a section or 
two of those miserable sinners doing penance, by dragging 
massy chains after them, fixed to their ankles. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


383 


The sixth figure is Christ on the cross, and a train 
similar to the preceding follows this also. 

The seventh represents our Saviour stretched under a 
rich embroidered canopy, which is supported by four an¬ 
gels, one at each corner of the platform on which the 
crucified Lord is laid. This is accompanied by a band 
of music playing a dead march. There are no persons in 
chains following this scene. 

The eighth and last figure in the procession is the Vir¬ 
gin Mother dressed in fine robes; she is represented with 
a sword thrust into her breast, and accompanied by two 
of the apostles or disciples. Several priests in their vest¬ 
ments, and several friars follow, accompanied by two 
fiddlers, the whole chaunting a hymn. 

This procession takes nearly an hour in passing a sta¬ 
tionary spectator, from the time the drummer and fifer 
preceding it steps off, until the fiddlers bring up the rear 
out of the church; and several hours pass in proceeding 
through the different streets of Valletta before it returns. 

o 

The bearers of the figures must halt frequently to 
rest themselves, as the burden is heavy; and in order to 
admit of resting, there is a man at each corner of the 
platform with an upright supporter ready to be placed 
under it; and on these four supporters the platform rests 
every time the bearers halt. 

Were any thing like a serious gravity, suitable to the 
melancholy scene of Christ’s passion and sufferings, ob¬ 
served during this exhibition, one might be apt to yield a 
decent respect to all this mummery; but, on the con¬ 
trary, the whole is conducted in a manner bcncatli that 
which might be witnessed of schoolboys marshalling for 


384 


RETROSPECT OF 


sli am-battle; the bearers of the images laughing or grin¬ 
ning, nodding, winking, or gesticulating to acquaint¬ 
ances in the crowd; the light robe of some of the saints, 
occasionally blown up or deranged by a puff of wind, re¬ 
quires the immediate attention of some one, who leaps up 
in an ungraceful manner to remedy the accident. Upon 
the whole, it appears more like a mockery of Christ’s 
sufferings, than a devotional representation of them. We 
are pleased at seeing youth marshalling for warlike 
pastimes or for sportive amusements; but when we see 
the hoary-headed and the reverend making fools of them¬ 
selves, and gazing-stocks for youth to laugh at, we are 
inclined to pity if not to despise such absurdities. 

Another ridiculous exhibition takes place at sunrise 
on the morning of Easter Sunday. This is the raising an 
image of Christ, as if from the grave. No sooner does 
the sun appear in the horizon, than all is full of rejoicing ; 
the sound of bells * floats over the whole island, and the 
joyful multitude rush forward to raise or meet the repre¬ 
sentation of a crucified Saviour arisen from the grave. 
The bearers run along the street with their precious bur¬ 
den, until wearied of their folly, they restore it to the 
church whence it was taken. 

On the morning of Easter Sunday (the 7th April) 
1833, as the bearers ran towards the St. Salvadore gate, 
the image fell and broke in pieces, t close to the place 

* Daring the week before Easter, no bells are rung, but rackets 
are used; in some churches they are suspended in the belfries and 
whirled round by a crank and rope. This is called “ Grinding Judas’ 
bones.” 

+ A similar occurrence happened in Malta several years previous 
to this accident, and a chapel was built on the spot. It is to be 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


385 


where a guard of Highlanders was posted, and the super¬ 
stitious crowd attributed the cause of the accident to the 
reluctance of the image to pass the heretical Highlanders. 

Indeed, there seldom passes a day on which a religious 
procession of one kind or another is not to be witnessed in 
this island. Even when a priest is proceeding to ad¬ 
minister the last sacrament to a dying person, he goes in 
procession; a canopy of silk is suspended over him, and 
he is preceded by boys in white frocks, ringing a little bell, 
and carrying a censer with incense or a burning taper; 
while every person within hearing of the bell falls down 
on his knees, and offers up a prayer for the soul of the 
departing. When the priest and his attendants return to 
the church, the great bells begin their noisy peals. 

Nor is the poorest person in the island committed to 
the grave without the attendance of a priest. If there be 
not sufficient personal property left to defray the expense, 
one of the meanest officials employed about the chapel, 
or one of the friends of the deceased, is sent out with an 
iron box to solicit the offerings of the faithful. He pro¬ 
ceeds along the streets and lanes rattling his box, and 
halting occasionally to proclaim the cause of his applica¬ 
tion ; the same as the common crier of a country village 
when advertising a sale. Those boxes are ornamented 
with a picture of the crucifixion, or of the Virgin and 
infant Redeemer, which is repeatedly kissed by the chari¬ 
table givers. And, when criminals are under sentence of 
death, several friars dressed in white gowns, with eye- 
looped-hole veils of the same cloth over their face, peram- 

remarked, that the fragments of the broken image were carefully 
gathered up, as relics worthy of preservation. 


386 


RETROSPECT OF 


bulate the streets of Valletta, and all the villages of the 
island, for several days, rattling an iron box, imploring 
offerings for the purpose of having masses said for the 
souls of the criminals. * 

It may be thought, from what I have remarked con¬ 
cerning the collections made for the spiritual repose of the 
deceased poor, that a portion of the money contributed 
would be appropriated towards the usual exterior accom¬ 
paniments of a funeral, such as a coffin and a shroud ; but 
this is not the case, it is all considered little enough for the 
clerical service performed. Indeed, few soldiers have an 
opportunity of seeing the interment of the mendicant poor 
who die in Valletta, as the cemetery in which they are 
buried is without the exterior glacis of the garrison, be¬ 
yond which a soldiers perambulations cannot extend 
without a passport. Being furnished with this, I have 
had frequent opportunities of witnessing the manner in 
which the poor are buried. 

The bodies are brought to the gate of the cemetery in a 
black case, slid into a van, similar to that used by music- 

* When a criminal is led to execution, he is drawn upon a hurdle 
to the place. Several friars are employed, with the rattling begging 
boxes, collecting mass-money among the immense crowd of spectators 
assembled on the occasion, and a very rich harvest is reaped by those 
zealous labourers. A Capuchin sits by the criminal’s side in earnest 
X>rayer and exhortation; he has a small board in his hand, with a 
picture of the Crucifixion pasted upon it, which he puts to the lips 
of the criminal from time to time ; he mounts the ladder along with 
the criminal and executioner, and like one of the angels on Jacob’s 
ladder, points the way to heaven. He continues to support and en¬ 
courage the victim of justice until the rope is adjusted and the last 
signal given, when he leaves him to the executioner, who throw's oft' 
the criminal, leaps upon his shoulders, and continues to press him 
down by repeated jerks, until every limb is at rest. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


387 


sellers for conveying musical instruments; the priest fol¬ 
lows with a boy in a calislie, halts at the gate, the box is 
withdrawn and carried to the grave, the priest in his cas¬ 
sock and stole walks before, and the boy precedes him, 
carrying a silver crucifix: at the grave the box is opened 
and the bodies taken out and the adults lowered into the 
grave, * the children, if there be any, are laid on the 
brink ; the priest drops a little holy water over the corpse, 
makes the sign of the cross over it, and departs. I have 
witnessed this repeatedly. On the first occasion at which 
I was present, the box or case contained the corpses of two 
men and two little children; they had nothing wrapped 
about them but the rags of clothes which they had worn 
when alive; face, hands, legs, and feet were bare; the 
bodies of the men were left in the grave, and those of the 
children on the brink. I stood for a few minutes, expect¬ 
ing to see the earth laid over them ; but the sextons with- 
drew and beckoned me to follow them; I obeyed, the 
gate was locked, the grave left open, and the two babes 
exposed on the bank of earth, and not a person left within 
the walls. In my future visits I have seen the same man¬ 
ner of leaving the bodies exposed. The case in which the 
bodies had been brought was replaced in the van and 
taken back to the city. 

The funerals of the more wealthy class are more respect¬ 
ably conducted; their remains are generally deposited in 
catacombs under the churches, or in some of the ceme¬ 
teries at Floriana,—a suburb lying without the principal 

* The cemeteries have a considerable depth of earth, in conse¬ 
quence of the earthy particles and rubbish having been deposited 
there from the excavations of the tortifications. 

L L 2 


388 


.RETROSPECT OF 


wall and glacis, but, as I have already stated, within the 
exterior ones. , 

I cannot conclude my remarks on the superstitious ob¬ 
servances of the Maltese, without adverting to a circum¬ 
stance that occurred in 1832. A series of rainy weather, 
of longer duration than usual, occurred that year; and 
several weeks before a change took place, great apprehen¬ 
sions were entertained that there would be a complete 
failure of the crops. A Fast (such is the usual term given 
to a holiday for the purpose of propitiating the Almighty) 
was held to implore the intercession of the saints for a 
favourable change. 

There had been a statue of the Madona de la Carmel 
removed from a church in Valletta to a small chapel in a 
village, to give place for a statue of the Madona de la 
Grace *, consecrated by the Pope, and sent from Rome. 
This removal occurred about the commencement of the 
rainy weather, and it was supposed that the Madona de 
la Carmel had felt the indignity done to her image, and 
in her anger or grief poured down this flood on the island ; 
therefore, to propitiate the saint, the image was brought 
back on this day of humiliation and placed on its former 
pedestal. But, alas! all these triflings had no immediate 
effect on the weather; day after day witnessed the occa¬ 
sional outpouring of the clouds, and even the priests saw 
at last the vanity of man to contend with Providence in 
the good government of the seasons. 

I leave to the reader to determined whether the ad¬ 
mission, as objects of adoration, of those representatives 

* I believe both ladies are representations of the Virgin Mary, 
though differently designated. 


A MILITARY LIFE. 


389 


of persons who have been eminent in their day, be com¬ 
patible with the Christian religion. Thus says the wor¬ 
shipper :— u I look not upon such works of art as an 
attempt by man to withdraw or withhold the homage of 
the creature from the Creator. Does the sculptor or the 
painter feel any disrespect done to himself, by seeing the 
statue or the picture which he has finished looked upon 
with admiration by another person ? Or does the skilful 
musician feel offended at the individuals who seem 
charmed by the melody of his soft sounding instrument ? 
No, he feels honoured by the admiration which his supe¬ 
rior talents inspire. How much less can we suppose that 
the Creator can feel offended at the adoration, if we can 
call it adoration, which man pays to the works of man ? 
For God is the Creator of the artist who produces those 
works which excite our admiration; and the doing homage 
to the creature whom the Creator has endowed with talents 
superior to our own, is doing homage to the Creator.” 
Such are the reasons given for the admission of those in¬ 
animate objects into places of worship, or elsewhere, as 
taste or fancy may determine. 

It may be supposed that the clergy, being learned men, 
know better than to believe in the efficacy or propriety 
of all the superstitious absurdities which the church ob¬ 
serves and sanctions; but although the well educated 
priest may be sceptical of that doctrine which he has 
sworn to maintain, yet he perhaps sees no good reason 
to adopt an opposite one which may be equally as ob¬ 
jectionable to reason, if reason were to be the guide; and 
he is doubtless possessed of more wisdom or prudence 
than professedly to slight that religion, which, while it 

l l 3 


390 


RETROSPECT OF 


does not violently strip the rich man of his wealth, makes 
the poor man content with his poverty, and himself looked 
upon as an ambassador of Heaven. 

A stranger on entering Valletta and looking towards 
the beautiful houses with their spacious projecting balco¬ 
nies, the magnificent churches rising on each side, and 
the statues of saints which are to be seen in all directions, 
at the corners of streets, over the fountains, and over the 
gates, would be apt to think that the voice of poverty 
could not be heard within its walls; but soon will he be 
undeceived. In a minute after he enters, he will be sur¬ 
rounded by a crowd of importunate beggars, whose filthy 
rags have perhaps covered several generations, and now 
harbour, under a hundred half-mended shreds, a million of 
vermin. His ears will be stunned with the solicitations 
and clamours of those miserables , as they call themselves; 
and if he bestow a little on one or two, he will find some 
difficulty to extricate himself from his unpleasant situa¬ 
tion. Indeed, one could scarcely believe, until convinced 
by ocular demonstration, that such a number of beggars 
could find a residence within the walls of so beautiful a 
city as Valletta. Upwards of one-tentli of the population 
are paupers, though not all begging from door to door. In 
fact, begging is so common, there seems to be nothing 
shameful attached to the profession; and a person re¬ 
spectably dressed is certain, in whatever direction he may 
proceed, whether in the town or in the country, to be 
asked for charity by every peasant or poor labourer whom 
he meets and looks in the face. 

There may be various causes ascribed for this state of 
poverty, among which are these:—First, the prevailing. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


391 


and, I may say, pernicious belief, that voluntary poverty 
is a virtue; secondly, wages are very low, and provisions 
so cheap, that two-pence, by whatever means obtained, 
is sufficient to procure a day’s food, therefore idleness 
and beggary are preferred to hard labour, low wages, and 
a spare diet. 

In Britain we can have no idea of the poor meal to 
which a peasant or a day-labourer in Malta sits down, even 
with enjoyment, under the cover of some shade. A piece of 
coarse brown bread, seemingly a mixture of rye and bran, 
with a clove of garlick, an onion, a radish, or a few blades 
of salad, for a relish to this coarse bread, is sufficient to 
satisfy the craving appetite. I have seen some purchase 
a farthing’s worth of pickled fish as a more savoury 
accompaniment, and without any other preparation than 
minutely dividing it, raw as it was, to the different 
mouthfuls of bread, seem satisfied with their simple re¬ 
past. Their clothes are made of Malta cotton, and of 
their own manufacture : they all go barefooted; even the 
hackney-coachmen are without shoes, and will run by 
the side of their mules and carriages to any distance, 
without mounting to drive as in Britain. 

It has been stated by some travellers that there are no 
venomous reptiles in the island; this may be a truth, for 
aught I know to the contrary, regarding their venom, but 
there are snakes, scorpions, and woodslaves; perhaps 
these may be harmless. I saw, on one occasion, a Maltee 
in the barrack, holding a snake in his hand, and letting it 
slip through his fingers and rest its head on the palm of 
his hand; the forked tongue was frequently darted forth, 
but without harm. One of the soldiers requested to have 


392 


RETROSPECT OF 


the holding of it, but the Maltee was unwilling to com¬ 
ply, declaring that it would of a certainty sting him, he 
(the soldier) being no Christian. This made the latter 
the more desirous to have a trial, and to the astonishment 
of the poor ignorant Maltee, the reptile was no less harm¬ 
less in the heretical hand than its ancestor had been in 
that of the orthodox St. Paul; and for want of this dis¬ 
crimination between the hand of a heretic and of a true 
Christian, the Maltee crushed it to death. 

The troops stationed on this island are allowed to hire 
a native male-servant for each barrack-room, on purpose 
to do any menial affair that may be required, such as 
carrying the breakfasts and dinners to the different 
guards, cleaning the rooms, &c. The medium wages 
given to each is about fifteen-pence, with breakfast and 
dinner; he has also the advantage of acquiring the Eng¬ 
lish language, which is not only serviceable to himself, 
but may ultimately be serviceable to England, by gradu¬ 
ally introducing its language as that of the natives, and 
uniting them more closely to the interest of Britain. It 
is to be observed, that the soldiers charge themselves with 
the pay and subsistence of those smatches , as they are 
called; government is put to no expense whatever for 
their keeping. 

Civita Vecchia, the ancient capital of Malta, is situ¬ 
ated on an eminence about five or six miles inland from 
Valletta, and commands a view of nearly the whole 
island, with its numerous villages and intervening little 
dwellings, so thickly sprinkled over the country, that 
almost every enclosed field has a homestead for a resi¬ 
dent agriculturist. Each of these small dwellings con- 



A MILITARY LIFE. 393 

sists of one story, with one or two unglazed windows at a 
considerable height from the ground, and looking towards 
the field or garden. The roof is flat, and not seen from 
the outside of the building; this apparent want of a roof 
gives if, as I have already observed, more the appear¬ 
ance of a lime-kiln than of a house. The interior consists 
of one apartment: we shall enter it. The stranger who 
has a cigar in his hand to light for himself, and another 
to offer as a gift to the occupant, can never be at a loss 
for an apology on entering a poor man’s dwelling unbid¬ 
den. At the hearth sits the mistress; she has been comb¬ 
ing her hair with her fingers; or, I may say, feeling for 
something there, which she is now looking for in the head 
of one of her children, which rests on her lap, and seems 
not wanting in that for which she is looking. Overhead, 
between the roof and floor, is a hammock, suspended by 
two cords fixed to the opposite walls; this serves for a 
cradle to the young Maltee by day, and a roost for the 
poultry by night. There is a daub of a picture of the 
Virgin, and another of Christ on the cross, pasted to the 
wall, with a little delft image of a saint suspended on 
a nail between the two pictures. Here are two straw- 
bottomed chairs, one stool, and two large stones, which 

k 

may serve for scats, an old table with a broken corner, 
and a cupboard without a door; these seem to be the 
principal furniture in the house, if house we can call it- 
In one corner is a little straw under a Dutch mat, and 
something like an old blanket above it; another corner 
seems to be appropriated for a donkey’s stall, while a goat 
with two kids appear quite at home and welcome to any 
corner. Such is the general state of the peasant’s home- 



394 


RETROSPECT OF 


stead. Notwithstanding this apparent want of comfort 
among the lower class of society in Malta, there are some 
magnificent country-houses, very splendidly furnished. 
But these are few, as the wealthy class reside either in 
Valletta, Civita Vecchia, or in some of the villages. 

Reader, if in the foregoing narrative I have in any re¬ 
spect offended by appearing too much of the egotist or 
pedant, I beg to apologize. I am aware that I have 
used more freedom in offering my own opinion on the in¬ 
cidents which have come under my observation, than 
may be thought justifiable in one of my humble rank and 
unpretending acquirements; but I flatter myself in having 
stated the truth, and trust that those who have served as 
long in the army as I have served, will admit my observa¬ 
tions to be essentially in accordance with their own. 

I am now about to bid farewell to the service ; that 
health, which I so happily enjoyed during nearly twenty- 
nine years of my service, has for twelve months past for¬ 
saken me. Racked with painful stitches, and unable to 
perform the duties of my situation to my own satisfac¬ 
tion, I am now about to proceed to Chelsea. The begin¬ 
ning of my military life was pleasant, and few have 
served so long with less cause to reflect on the hardships 
of the service: my only regret is at leaving it. 

I must now take leave of Malta, and bid farewell to 
that regiment in which I have served faithfully : so, at 
least, I think ; and it would be calling in question the testi¬ 
mony of those under whom I served for another to deny 
me that merit. I trust, also, that I depart possessed of the 
good opinion and good wishes of all my fellow-soldiers. 



A MILITARY LIFE. 


395 


If to any of them I have acted wrongfully, or said aught 
offensive, I feel assured of their forgiveness, for I never 
gave offence causelessly without apologizing, and that 
voluntarily, without being called upon to do so, as soon 
as the mistake was made known to me. There can he no 
falser pride than that which leads a man wrongfully or 
causelessly to wound the feelings of another, and after¬ 
wards think an apology a degradation to himself, because 
he may hold a little rank over him whom he lias unjustly 
offended. 

Reader, farewell. 


THE END. 


EDINBURGH : 

PRINTED BY W. H. LIZARS. 




LRB-JL78 






















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